Notice2024-31176
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
December 31, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The New England Fishery Management Council (Council, NEFMC) will hold a three-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 250 (Tuesday, December 31, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 250 (Tuesday, December 31, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 107111-107112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-31176]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XE575]
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 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 Tuesday, January 28, 2025 through
Thursday, January 30, 2025, beginning at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday and 9
a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place at The Venue at Portwalk Place,
22 Portwalk Place, Portsmouth, NH; telephone: (603) 422-6114; online at
<a href="https://www.thevenueatportwalkplace.com">https://www.thevenueatportwalkplace.com</a>. Join the webinar at <a href="https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3666534172564880989">https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3666534172564880989</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
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
After brief announcements, the Council will receive reports on
recent activities from its 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,
and representatives from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission (ASMFC), the U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA's Office of Law
Enforcement, and the Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section to the
International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
(ICCAT). Next, the Council will receive a report from its Risk Policy
Working Group on updates to the implementation strategy for the
Council's revised Risk Policy. The Habitat Committee report will
follow. The Council will receive an overview of new essential fish
habitat (EFH) designation methods and the EFH Review Report before
providing direction on future actions. Next, the Council will: (1)
approve updates to the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC)
section of the Council's Operations Handbook; (2) adjourn the public
portion of the meeting; and (3) enter into closed session to discuss
SSC appointments.
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
The Council will begin the second day of its meeting with a survey
update from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center on: (1) the 2024
survey season; (2) continency planning for the NOAA Ship Henry B.
Bigelow; (3) the shakedown cruise for the NOAA Ship Pisces; (4)
Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel work on an industry-based trawl survey;
and (5) other survey-related issues. The Northeast Fisheries Science
Center also will provide a presentation on the peer-reviewed results of
the 2024 Yellowtail Flounder Research Track Stock Assessment. The
Council then will receive a NOAA Fisheries presentation on the Marine
Recreational Information Program (MRIP) Fishing Effort Survey follow-up
study, which will be followed by a public listening session on NOAA
Fisheries' collaborative initiative to re-envision recreational fishing
data collection partnership approaches.
Following the lunch break, the Council will hear from the
Groundfish Committee and provide recommendations to GARFO on fishing
year 2025 recreational measures for Western Gulf of Maine cod and Gulf
of Maine haddock. It also will receive an overview of the 2025
groundfish work priorities, including Phase 2 cod transition planning.
The Council then will engage in a special session on fisheries and
habitat research in offshore
[[Page 107112]]
wind areas, which will include six short presentations. Following
adjournment, the Council will host its Public Outreach gathering, an
informational exchange to foster open lines of communication among
Council members, staff, industry, and meeting attendees. All are
welcome and light snacks will be provided. Public Outreach will be
combined with a poster session on fisheries and habitat research in
offshore wind areas, as well as port hours by offshore wind developers.
These events will take place at the AC Hotel at 299 Vaughn Street in
Portsmouth, NH, a 4-minute walk from the Council's meeting room at The
Venue at Portwalk Place.
Thursday, January 30, 2025
The Council will lead off the third day of its meeting with the
Atlantic Herring Committee report, which will begin with an update on
Amendment 10 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan. Amendment
10 is an action to minimize user conflicts in the Atlantic herring
fishery and address river herring/shad catch. The Council also will:
(1) receive an overview of ASMFC's 2024 river herring benchmark stock
assessment; (2) discuss preliminary 2024 year-end catch information
prepared by the Herring Plan Development Team; and (3) possibly
consider revised recommendations for 2025 specifications. The Scallop
Committee will provide a presentation on the development of a Scallop
Strategic Plan. The Council will review the workplan for this
initiative and the schedule for outreach meetings. It also will receive
an overview of the 2025 scallop work priorities. Next, 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>. After public comment, the Council's On-
Demand Fishing Gear Conflict Working Group will provide a progress
report on work towards addressing the group's terms of reference, which
include identifying the implications of on-demand fishing gear use for
Council-managed fisheries. 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: December 20, 2024.
Rey Israel Marquez,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-31176 Filed 12-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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