Notice2023-06514
New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 29, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The New England Fishery Management Council (Council, NEFMC) will hold a three-day in-person meeting with an option for remote participation to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Council continues to follow all public safety measures related to COVID-19 and intends to do so for this meeting.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 60 (Wednesday, March 29, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 29, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18529-18530]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06514]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XC881]
New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council, NEFMC)
will hold a three-day in-person meeting with an option for remote
participation to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in
the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Council continues to follow all
public safety measures related to COVID-19 and intends to do so for
this meeting.
DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 18, Wednesday, April
19, and Thursday, April 20, 2023, beginning at 9 a.m., each day.
ADDRESSES:
Meeting address: The meeting will be held at the Hilton Mystic, 20
Coogan Boulevard, Mystic, CT 06355; telephone: (860) 572-0731; online
at <a href="https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/mysmhhf-hilton-mystic/">https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/mysmhhf-hilton-mystic/</a>. Join the
webinar at <a href="https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1463144741317930842">https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1463144741317930842</a>.
Council address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water
Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; telephone: (978) 465-0492;
<a href="http://www.nefmc.org">www.nefmc.org</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director,
New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492, ext.
113.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Agenda
Tuesday, April 18, 2023
The Council will begin this meeting in Closed Session to discuss
the search for a new executive director. At 9:30 a.m., the open session
will begin with brief announcements, followed by reports on recent
activities from the Council's Chair and Executive Director, the Greater
Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) Regional Administrator, the
Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) Director, the NOAA Office of
General Counsel, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council liaison,
staff from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), and
representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA's Office of Law
Enforcement. Next, the Council will receive an update on work to review
and improve the Monkfish Research Set-Aside Program. This report will
be followed by an update on a joint New England and Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council action to reduce Atlantic sturgeon bycatch
in monkfish and dogfish gillnet fisheries. The Council will initiate
Monkfish Framework Adjustment 15 to incorporate proposed management
measures. The Council then will receive an update on the formation of a
new working group charged with addressing issues related to preventing
gear conflicts between vessels using on-demand/ropeless fishing gear
and vessels using mobile gear. To end the morning, the Council will
receive a presentation and provide comments on the Draft NOAA Fisheries
National Seafood Strategy.
After the lunch break, the Council will receive a presentation on a
Northeast Fisheries Science Center survey to assess current social/
economic conditions of commercial fishing crews, including hired
captains. The survey is a follow-up to NEFSC's 2018-19 study to
determine demographic, well-being, and work condition changes over
time. The Enforcement Committee report will be up next. The Council
will hear enforcement feedback on a number of issues, including: (1)
on-demand/ropeless fishing gear and the Gear Conflict Working Group;
(2) the Council's Atlantic Salmon Aquaculture Framework; (3) ongoing
work to reduce gillnet/protected resources interactions; (4) NOAA
Office of Law Enforcement priorities; and (5) Council enforcement-
related work priorities for 2023. After that, the Scallop Committee
will provide an update on scallop work priorities for 2023, which
include changes to the Scallop Research Set-Aside Program. Another
important scallop-related item will be covered under the next agenda
item, the Habitat Committee report. The first item of the habitat
report will focus on the Northern Edge of Georges Bank and: (1)
consider both Habitat Committee and Scallop Committee input, (2)
discuss and potentially approve preliminary goals and objectives for
possible management action, and (3) consider initiating action to
revise the habitat management area (HMA) on the Northern Edge of
Georges Bank to authorize scallop fishery access to the area. The
habitat report also will include Council final action on a framework
adjustment to the Atlantic Salmon Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to
facilitate offshore Atlantic salmon aquaculture, followed by an update
on offshore energy issues and other habitat-related work. The Council
then will adjourn for the day.
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
The Council will begin the second day of its meeting with the
Groundfish Committee report, which will cover multiple items. First,
the Council will receive a progress report on the Groundfish Plan
Development Team's work to develop performance metrics and indicators
for the review process to evaluate the new groundfish monitoring system
under Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management
Plan. The Council also will hear the Scientific and Statistical
Committee's feedback on the metrics and indicators. The groundfish
report will cover four other items: (1) an update on the facilitated
process to develop new acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rules
for groundfish; (2) an update on the Atlantic cod management transition
plan should the Council go from managing two Atlantic cod stocks to
four or five; (3) an update on addressing Canadian Atlantic halibut
catch swings in the U.S. management process; and (4) a Council
discussion on Gulf of Maine haddock. The Skate Committee report will
follow, covering an update on work under 2023 skate priorities.
After the lunch break, members of the public will have the
opportunity to speak during an open comment period on issues that
relate to Council business but are not included on the published agenda
for this meeting. The Council asks the public to limit remarks to 3-5
minutes. These comments will be received both in person and through the
webinar. A guide for how to publicly comment through the webinar is
available on the Council website at https://s3.amazonaws.com/nefmc.org/
[[Page 18530]]
NEFMC-meeting-remote-participation_generic.pdf. The Ecosystem-Based
Fishery Management (EBFM) Committee report will be up next to cover two
items: (1) a progress report on the prototype Management Strategy
Evaluation (pMSE) planning meetings for EBFM and the Georges Bank
example Fishery Ecosystem Plan (eFEP); and (2) committee advice on
conducting deep-dive public information workshops on EBFM. The Council
then will receive a presentation from the Northeast Fisheries Science
Center on its State of the Ecosystem 2023 report for New England. The
SSC will provide feedback on the EBFM pMSE strategy and the State of
the Ecosystem 2023 report. The Council will close out the day with a
congressional update on legislative activities.
Thursday, April 20, 2023
The Council will lead off the third day of its meeting with the
Atlantic Herring Committee report, which will cover: (1) an update on
coordinated work with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
and Mid-Atlantic Council on river herring and shad, followed by a
Herring Plan Development Team analysis of recent low river herring/shad
estimates in the Atlantic herring fishery; and (2) an update on action
to revisit the inshore midwater trawl closure that was part of
Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan but was
vacated by court order. The Council then will receive a presentation on
the Marine Resource Education Program, including an overview of the
science and management components of this program.
After the lunch break, the Council will receive an informational
overview on uncertainty in stock projections with two examples from
recent framework actions. This item will be followed by a discussion of
and decision on terms of reference for revising the Council's Risk
Policy. The Council will provide guidance to its Risk Policy Working
Group. Finally, the Council will close out the meeting with other
business.
Although non-emergency issues not contained on this agenda may come
before the Council for discussion, those issues may not be the subject
of formal action during this meeting. Council action will be restricted
to those issues specifically listed in this notice and any issues
arising after publication of this notice that require emergency action
under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council's
intent to take final action to address the emergency. The public also
should be aware that the meeting will be recorded. Consistent with 16
U.S.C. 1852, a copy of the recording is available upon request.
Special Accommodations
This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities.
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids
should be directed to Thomas A. Nies (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 days
prior to the meeting date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 24, 2023.
Rey Israel Marquez,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-06514 Filed 3-28-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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