Jump to main content.

New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

 [Federal Register: January 9, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 6)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 1634-1635]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09ja01-31]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 010201D]


New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Public meetings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold
several public meetings, including a 3-day Council meeting, on January
23, 24, and 25, 2001, to consider actions affecting New England
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). During this period, the
Council's Enforcement, Red Crab and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) Committees also
will meet independently from and report back to the Council.

DATES: Both the Enforcement and Red Crab Committees will meet on
Tuesday, January 23, at 9 a.m. The Council meeting will be held on
Tuesday, January 23, 2001, beginning at 1:00 p.m., and on Wednesday and
Thursday, January 24 and 25, at 8:30 a.m. The Magnuson-Stevens Act
Committee will meet on Wednesday, January 24, at 6 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held at the Sheraton Ferncroft Hotel,
50 Ferncroft Road, Danvers, MA, 01923; telephone (978) 777-2500.
Requests for special accommodations should be addressed to the New
England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2,
Newburyport, MA 01950; telephone (978) 465-0492.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Howard, Executive Director,
New England Fishery Management Council (978) 465-0492.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Tuesday, January 23, 2001

Enforcement Committee Meeting

    The committee intends to initiate a review of enforcement
activities since the implementation of Amendment 5 to the Northeast
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The information will be
used in documents supporting Amendment 13 to the FMP. The committee
also will finalize recommendations for Sea Scallop Framework Adjustment
14 and discuss issues related to measuring the cod-end mesh in fishing
nets.

Red Crab Committee Meeting

    The committee intends to discuss recent events in the red crab
fishery and develop recommendations to the Council on issues related to
potential overfishing of the red crab resource.

Council Meeting

    After introductions, the meeting will begin with a report from the
Council's

[[Page 1635]]

Research Steering Committee. The committee chair will ask the Council
to approve elements of a Request for Proposals (RFP), including
research priorities. The RFP will outline requirements under which
fishermen and scientists may apply for funds to conduct collaborative
groundfish or related research in New England. During the Skate
Committee Report to follow, the Council will consider a request for
NMFS emergency or interim action to prohibit the possession of barndoor
skates on vessels fishing in Federal waters. There also will be a
discussion and possible approval of a request to NMFS to eliminate, for
management purposes, clearnose and rosette skate from the Northeast
skate complex. The Red Crab Committee will report on issues addressed
at its earlier committee meeting. These include recent changes in the
deep-sea red crab fishery and consideration of a request for emergency
or interim action to address overfishing as a result of the recent
changes in the fishery. The committee will also forward the results of
their discussion concerning the need to develop a Red Crab FMP this
year.

Wednesday, January 24, 2001

    The Council meeting will begin with a closed session for
approximately an hour to discuss personnel and internal administrative
matters. The open portion of the meeting will begin with a report from
the Groundfish Committee. There will be an update on the development of
Amendment 13 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP, including a discussion
of the biological objectives for the amendment (in light of Amendment 9
overfishing definitions) and progress on the development of management
measures. This also will serve as the initial meeting for Framework 36
to the Northeast Multispecies FMP. Actions under consideration in the
framework adjustment include alternatives that would address regulatory
discards of Gulf of Maine cod and address combined landings and
discards that exceed the 2000 target Total Allowable Catch, a measure
to allow tuna purse seine vessels access to the current groundfish
closed areas, expansion of the northern shrimp fishery area in the Gulf
of Maine, an extension of the timeframe of the Western Gulf of Maine
Closed Area and other issues identified by the Groundfish Committee and
Council. The Habitat Committee will review the court decision and order
on American Oceans Campaign v. Secretary of Commerce Daley (the
Essential Fish Habitat lawsuit) and will discuss Council responsibility
to implement corrective action concerning the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act. The discussion will include a
proposed approach to comply with the court order in the Northeast
Multispecies Amendment 13 Environmental Impact Statement currently
under development. In the final agenda item for the day, the Spiny
Dogfish Committee will recommend approval of annual specifications for
the 2001-2002 fishing year; measures may include a Total Allowable
Catch, quotas, trip limits, and/or any other measures specified in the
Spiny Dogfish FMP.

Magnuson-Stevens Act Committee Meeting

    Following adjournment of the Council meeting, the Magnuson-Stevens
Act Committee will meet briefly to discuss the reauthorization of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act and develop an approach to address issues proposed
in the legislation.

Thursday, January 25, 2001

    The third day of the Council meeting will begin with reports on
recent activities from the Council Chairman, Executive Director, the
NMFS Regional Administrator, Northeast Fisheries Science Center and
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council liaisons, and representatives
of the Coast Guard, NMFS Enforcement and the Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission. As part of a NMFS Stock Assessment Public Review
Workshop, Northeast Fisheries Science Center staff will present an
advisory on the stock status of sea scallops, silver hake, American
plaice, and Gulf of Maine haddock. During the afternoon session, the
Council will consider approval of final action on Framework Adjustment
14 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP and its related Draft Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement. Four management issues will be
addressed in the framework: (1) the annual adjustment to the days-at-
sea available for fishing in the 2001-2002 and the 2002-2003 fishing
years; (2) up to four 2-year area closures to protect small scallops;
(3) a controlled fishing program to harvest scallops in the Hudson
Canyon and Virginia Beach Areas; and (4) a new possession limit on in-
shell scallops for limited access scallop vessels when inshore of the
day-at-sea monitoring line south of 42 deg.20' N latitude. The Council
meeting will adjourn after addressing any other outstanding business.
    Although other non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda
may come before this Council for discussion, those issues may not be
the subjects of formal action during this meeting. Council action will
be restricted to those issues specifically listed in this notification
and any issues arising after publication of this notification that
require emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council's intent to
take final action to address the emergency.
    The New England Council will consider public comments at a minimum
of two Council meetings before making recommendations to the National
Marine Fisheries Service Regional Administrator on any framework
adjustment to a fishery management plan. If she concurs with the
adjustment proposed by the Council, the Regional Administrator has the
discretion to publish the action either as proposed or final
regulations in the Federal Register. Documents pertaining to framework
adjustments are available for public review 7 days prior to a final
vote by the Council.

Special Accommodations

    This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities.
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids
should be directed to Paul J. Howard (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 days
prior to the meeting date.

    Dated: January 3, 2001.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-561 Filed 1-8-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S

 
 

Local Navigation

Jump to main content.