[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 5, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 543-544]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-33282]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA127


New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

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

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold 
a 3-day Council meeting on Tuesday-Thursday, January 25-27, 2011 to 
consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive 
economic zone (EEZ).

DATES: The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, January 25 and at 
8:30 a.m. on each of the following two meeting days.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Harborside Hotel, 
250 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801; telephone: (603) 431-2300 and 
fax: (603) 433-5649.
    Council address: 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; telephone: (978) 465-0492.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

    Following introductions and any announcements, the Council will 
begin its meeting with a series of brief reports from the Council 
Chairman and Executive Director, the NOAA Fisheries Northeast Regional 
Administrator, Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council liaisons, NOAA General Counsel, 
representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Atlantic States Marine 
Fisheries Commission, as well as NOAA Enforcement. These reports will 
be followed by a review of any experimental fishery permit applications 
that have been received since the last Council meeting in November 
2010. The Chairman of the Habitat Committee will then provide a brief 
update on activities to date to complete Habitat Omnibus 2, an action 
that will amend all of the Council's Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) 
with respect to Essential Fish Habitat and minimizing the habitat 
impacts of fishing activities. Members of the Council's Scientific and 
Statistical Committee (SSC) will report on their white paper and 
further outline approaches to undertaking ecosystem-based fisheries 
management. Prior to a lunch break, an Ocean Observatories Initiative 
representative will present an outline of their project--a networked 
sensor system array proposed for offshore Southern New England to 
measure the physical, chemical, geological and biological variables in 
the ocean and its seafloor. During the afternoon session, the Council 
will accept public comments on issues related to fisheries management, 
but not listed on the meeting agenda. Later, the Skate Committee will 
discuss and the Council will consider approval of an action to lower 
the skate wing possession limit for the 2011 fishing year. A Northeast 
Fisheries Science Center representative will report on the November 
2010 Stock Assessment Workshop/Stock Assessment Review Committee 
meeting that determined the status of Loligo, and five species of hake. 
The day will conclude with a report on the recent International 
Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) meeting. The 
focus will be on bluefin tuna and northern swordfish.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

    During the morning session, the Council may initiate a framework 
adjustment to the Northeast Multispecies FMP that could include a catch 
cap for haddock taken in the herring midwater trawl fishery. Following 
this discussion, the Herring Committee will ask the Council to approve 
management alternatives for inclusion in a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement that will accompany Amendment 5 to the Atlantic Herring FMP. 
The action may address the following: catch monitoring alternatives; 
river herring bycatch; midwater trawl access to the groundfish closed 
areas; interactions with the Atlantic mackerel fishery; and protection 
for spawning herring. This agenda item will be discussed until the 
meeting adjourns at the end of the business day.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

    The last day of the Council meeting will begin with a discussion of 
an amendment to the Northeast Multispecies FMP that could authorize 
state-operated permit banks as well as groundfish fleet diversity and 
accumulation limits. The Council also may discuss recent legislation 
that will affect the U.S./Canada Resource Sharing Understanding and may 
comment on the NMFS proposed rule for Framework Adjustment 45 to the 
Multispecies FMP. NOAA General Counsel in the Northeast Region will 
provide an update on case developments and/or regulatory issues that 
have arisen over the last six-to-eight months. Following this review, 
the Council plans to initiate Framework Adjustment 23 to the Sea 
Scallop FMP. The action could require scallop dredge vessels to use a 
turtle excluder device, possibly modify the amount of yellowtail 
flounder allocated to the scallop fishery and modify the limited access 
general category program in the Northern Gulf of Maine. The Council 
also plans to take final action on Framework Adjustment 7 to the 
Monkfish FMP. Included are measures to revise the biomass reference 
points, and accordingly, the Annual Catch Target in the monkfish 
Northern Management Area. Days-at-sea and trip limits for the 2011-13 
fishing years also will be modified. Before adjournment, the Council 
may address any other outstanding business related to this meeting.
    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 notice and 
any issues arising after publication of this notice that require 
emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 
provided that the public has been notified of the Council's intent to 
take final action to address the emergency.

[[Page 544]]

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: December 30, 2010.
William D. Chappell,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-33282 Filed 1-4-11; 8:45 am]
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