Notice2024-12438
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
June 6, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The New England Fishery Management Council (Council, NEFMC) will hold a four-day hybrid meeting with both in-person and remote participation to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 110 (Thursday, June 6, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 110 (Thursday, June 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48396-48397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12438]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XE013]
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 four-day hybrid meeting with both in-person and remote
participation to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in
the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
DATES: The meeting will be held on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday, June 24-27, 2024, beginning at 1 p.m. on Monday and 9 a.m. on
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place at the Hilton Garden Inn, 5 Park
Street, Freeport, ME 04032; telephone: (207) 865-1433; online at
<a href="https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/pwmfdgi-hilton-garden-inn-freeport-downtown/">https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/pwmfdgi-hilton-garden-inn-freeport-downtown/</a>. Join the webinar at <a href="https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7044747360305110105">https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7044747360305110105</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: Cate O'Keefe, Executive Director, New
England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492, ext.
113.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Agenda
Monday, June 24, 2024
The Council will begin this meeting with brief announcements,
followed by reports on recent activities from the Council's Chair and
Executive Director, the GARFO Regional Administrator, the NOAA Office
of General Counsel, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC)
Director, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council liaison, and
representatives from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
(ASMFC), the U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement, the
Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel, and the Advisory Committee to
the U.S. Section of the International Commission for the Conservation
of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The Council then will receive a brief report
on the status of the On-Demand Fishing Gear Conflict Working Group's
activities. As the last order of business for the day, the Council will
hear from its Atlantic Herring Committee, which will: (1) provide a
summary of public comments received during scoping meetings conducted
for Amendment 10 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan; and
(2) enter into an initial discussion on specifications for the 2025,
2026, and 2027 fishing years for Atlantic herring.
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
The Council will begin the second day of its meeting by considering
updates to its 2022-26 Research Priorities and determining a schedule
for future updates. The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee
(SSC) will provide input on the research priorities. Next, the Council
will receive an overview of the day's climate/ecosystem-related
discussion items, which will begin with: (1) a presentation on projects
funded under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), coupled with a broad
overview of the initial draft workplan; and (2) a report from the May
2024 East Coast Climate Coordination Group meeting, including further
details regarding IRA-funded climate/ecosystem projects. The Council
then will receive a presentation on NOAA's Climate, Ecosystems, and
Fisheries Initiative (CEFI) and discuss how this initiative can be
integrated into fishery management.
Following the lunch break, the Council will receive a presentation
on the 2024 State of the Ecosystem Report for New England, followed by
SSC input on the report and overall discussion. Next, the Council will
hear from its Risk Policy Working Group. The Council will review and
provide feedback on a draft revised Risk Policy and provide further
direction to the working group. The SSC also will provide input on the
draft Risk Policy. Following the adjournment of official business, the
Council will host a public outreach session to foster open lines of
communication among Council members, staff, industry, and all meeting
attendees. This event will be held in the same hotel as the meeting
itself--the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport, ME--in the lobby area.
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
The Council will lead off the third day of its meeting with an
overarching discussion of ecosystem-based fishery management (EBFM) and
ecosystem approaches to fishery management (EAFM). The Council will:
(1) discuss the path forward to consider EAFM for incremental action
across all Council fishery management plans; (2) consider the structure
of its current Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management Committee and EBFM
Plan Development Team; and (3) discuss alternatives to the current
committee/PDT structure given other ongoing ecosystem/climate
activities. The Council then will hear about fishery independent
surveys and survey mitigation, beginning with an update on the
Northeast Fisheries Science Center's fishery independent surveys. The
Science Center's update will cover: (1)
[[Page 48397]]
NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow contingency plans; and (2) industry-based
surveys. The Council then will receive comments from a subpanel of its
SSC regarding a peer review of NEFSC's draft survey mitigation plans
relative to offshore wind. An opportunity for Council questions and
comments will follow. The Habitat Committee then will provide an
offshore wind update, which will cover the proposed lease sale in the
Gulf of Maine Wind Energy Area and other offshore wind developments.
The committee also will provide other habitat updates, including a
brief status report on the Essential Fish Habitat Review.
Following 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 <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/nefmc.org/NEFMC-meeting-remote-participation_generic.pdf">https://s3.amazonaws.com/nefmc.org/NEFMC-meeting-remote-participation_generic.pdf</a>. The Council then will
receive a presentation on: (1) adopted changes to the U.S./Canada
Transboundary Resources Assessment Committee and Transboundary
Management Guidance Committee process--known as the TRAC/TMGC process;
and (2) next steps for addressing assessment updates for shared U.S./
Canada fishery resources on Georges Bank. The Council then will hear
from NOAA General Counsel on Council and National Marine Fisheries
Service procedural differences for fishery management plans,
amendments, framework adjustments, and specifications. The Groundfish
Committee will be up next. The Council will review public input and a
draft report from three public workshops conducted this spring on the
Atlantic Cod Management Transition Plan. A discussion on next steps
will follow. The Council also will receive a progress report on
Amendment 25, which is an action to incorporate four new Atlantic cod
stock units into the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery
Management Plan. Finally, the Council will initiate Framework
Adjustment 69 to set specifications for several groundfish stocks for
fishing years 2025-27, U.S./Canada total allowable catches (TACs) for
2025-26, and incorporate revisions to flatfish sub-annual catch limits
(sub-ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs). The Council then will
adjourn for the day.
Thursday, June 27, 2024
The Council will lead off the final day of its meeting with the
Scallop Committee report. First, the Council will discuss and act on
three items related to the Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program.
These are: (1) RSA updates for inclusion in Council Operations
Handbook; (2) shifting to a two-year RSA priority-setting schedule
versus annual priority-setting; and (3) 2025 and 2026 scallop RSA
priorities. The Council then will receive several other scallop-related
updates, including: (1) a progress report on changes to flatfish
accountability measures for the scallop fishery; (2) a brief update on
the five-year review of the Limited Access General Category Individual
Fishing Quota Program; and (3) an overview of ongoing scallop survey
work. The Council also will initiate Framework Adjustment 39 to the
Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. This framework will
include 2025 fishery specifications, 2026 defaults, flatfish AM
changes, and other measures. Next, the Council will discuss
developments to an omnibus framework adjustment to potentially
authorize scallop fishery access to the Closed Area II Habitat
Management Area on the Northern Edge of Georges Bank. The Council will
take action or provide further direction on the preparation of
management alternatives for the omnibus framework. Following this
discussion, the Council may receive a presentation from NOAA Fisheries
on a proposed rule for updating National Standard Guidelines 4, 8, and
9. If so, the Council will have an opportunity to ask questions and
provide comments. This agenda item is dependent on publication of the
proposed rule prior to the meeting and may be postponed to a later date
if the proposed rule is not available. The Council then 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 Executive Director Cate O'Keefe (see ADDRESSES)
at least 5 days prior to the meeting date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: June 3, 2024.
Rey Israel Marquez,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-12438 Filed 6-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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