[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 172 (Thursday, September 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61572-61574]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19317]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XD336]


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, September 25, 2023 through 
Thursday, September 28, 2023. The meetings will begin at 12 p.m. on 
Monday, and 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

ADDRESSES: 

[[Page 61573]]

    Meeting address: The meeting will be held at the Hotel 1620, 180 
Water Street, Plymouth, MA 02360; telephone (508) 747-4900; online at 
https://www.hotel1620.com. Join the webinar at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1732414043779454039.
    Council address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 
Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; telephone (978) 465-0492; 
www.nefmc.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cate O'Keefe, Executive Director, New 
England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492, ext. 
113.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Agenda

Monday, September 25, 2023

    After brief announcements, the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries 
Office (GARFO) Regional Administrator will swear in new and reappointed 
Council members. Then, the Council will hold its annual election of 
officers before receiving reports on recent activities from its Chair 
and Executive Director, the 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, the 
Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries 
Organization (NAFO), the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and 
the NMFS Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel. Next, the Council 
will receive a presentation from GARFO on the development of a Draft 
Regional Equity and Environmental Justice (EEJ) Strategy. GARFO will 
seek Council input on EEJ engagement issues for potential inclusion in 
the draft strategy. This will be followed by a presentation on the 
preliminary Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Report 
covering fishing year 2022 catches and economic trends for small-mesh 
multispecies (whiting). NOAA Fisheries then will provide a presentation 
on a procedural directive related to Section 304(f) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which provides 
guidance on fishery management plan authority for stocks across more 
than one Council's jurisdiction. The Council will engage in a 
discussion on this topic. As the last item of business for the day, the 
Council will take up East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning. The 
Council will discuss next steps and the formation of two groups to 
support implementation of the outcomes from the Climate Change Scenario 
Planning Summit.

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

    The Council will begin the second day of its meeting with the 
Scallop Committee report, starting with a preliminary overview of 2023 
scallop surveys and a progress report on Framework Adjustment 38 to the 
Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The framework 
includes 2024 fishery specifications, 2025 default specifications, and 
other measures. The Council also will approve the Scallop Survey 
Working Group's guiding principles. The Northeast Fisheries Science 
Center will be up next with an overview of NEFSC fishery independent 
surveys. The presentation will cover: (1) past survey performance; (2) 
2023 survey season issues; (3) survey contingency plans; and (4) future 
scheduling for the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow bottom trawl surveys and 
R/V Hugh R. Sharp scallop surveys. The Council will receive input from 
the Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel and engage in a question-and-answer 
session on the NEFSC fishery independent survey overview.
    After the lunch break, the Council will discuss an action related 
to the Northern Edge of Georges Bank. The Council will receive an 
initial presentation on draft alternatives to potentially authorize 
scallop fishery access to the Habitat Management Area on the Northern 
Edge and offer suggestions for revisions to the draft alternatives. The 
Habitat Committee report will follow with two items: (1) a progress 
report on the Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Review, which is being 
conducted to revise the EFH components of the Council's fishery 
management plans; and (2) an update on regional offshore wind 
activities and other habitat-related work. The Northeast Fisheries 
Science Center then will provide a presentation on the peer-reviewed 
results of the June 2023 Management Track Stock Assessments for 
Atlantic deep-sea red crab, longfin inshore squid, bluefish, scup, and 
summer flounder. The Council will discuss Atlantic deep-sea red crab 
next to address specifications for the 2024-2027 fishing years. The 
Council will hear the Scientific and Statistical Committee's (SSC) 
recommendations on overfishing limits (OFLs) and acceptable biological 
catches (ABCs) for the fishery and then take final action on the 
specifications. At the conclusion of this discussion, the Council will 
adjourn for the day.

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

    The Council will lead off the third day of its meeting by receiving 
a presentation on the peer-reviewed results of the 2023 Atlantic Cod 
Research Track Assessment, which will be followed by a question-and-
answer opportunity. The U.S. Co-Chair of the Transboundary Resources 
Assessment Committee (TRAC) then will provide a presentation on the 
2023 assessment results and related updates for Eastern Georges Bank 
cod, Eastern Georges Bank haddock, and Georges Bank yellowtail 
flounder. The Scientific and Statistical Committee Chair will provide 
the SSC's recommendations on OFLs and ABCs for Georges Bank yellowtail 
flounder for fishing years 2024 and 2025. The Council then will review 
and approve the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee's 
recommendations for 2024-2025 total allowable catches (TACs) for shared 
U.S./Canada resources on Georges Bank. Next, the Council will receive 
the SSC's recommendations on OFLs and ABCs for: (1) Gulf of Maine 
haddock for fishing years 2024 and 2025; and (2) white hake for fishing 
years 2024 and 2025, along with feedback on the white hake rebuilding 
plan options. Part 1 of the Groundfish Committee report will follow. 
The Council will receive a progress report on Framework Adjustment 66 
to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) FMP, which includes (1) 
2024-2025 TACs for U.S./Canada shared resources on Georges Bank; (2) 
2024-2025 specifications for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder, white 
hake, and Gulf of Maine haddock; (3) 2024-2026 specifications for 
redfish, northern windowpane, and southern windowpane; (4) a revised 
white hake rebuilding plan; (5) Atlantic halibut issues; and (6) 
extending removal of the sector management uncertainty buffer for white 
hake and Gulf of Maine haddock until the next specifications cycle.
    Following the lunch break, the Council will take up Part 2 of the 
Groundfish Committee report, which will cover two items. First will be 
a presentation on a recent facilitated meeting to revise groundfish ABC 
control rules. Any revisions will be made through Framework Adjustment 
68 to the Groundfish FMP. Second, the Council will receive an update on 
the Atlantic Cod Management Transition Plan. The Council then will 
review and discuss recommended changes to its Risk Policy as identified 
in Terms of Reference 1 and 2, including potential

[[Page 61574]]

revisions to the goals and objectives. The Council also will discuss 
how revisions to the groundfish ABC control rules may relate to the 
Risk Policy Working Group's directive. 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 https://s3.amazonaws.com/nefmc.org/NEFMC-meeting-remote-participation_generic.pdf.
    As the last order of business for the day, the Council will receive 
a brief overview of NOAA's Draft Technical Guidance for National 
Standard 1 Reference Points and Status Determinations. This will 
include SSC input and an opportunity for Council comments.

Thursday, September 28, 2023

    The Council will lead off the fourth day of its meeting with the 
Atlantic Herring Committee report. The Council will receive a progress 
report on work to revisit the vacated Inshore Midwater Trawl Restricted 
Area that was part of Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring FMP. The 
Council potentially may initiate a framework adjustment to develop 
alternatives to minimize user conflicts for Atlantic herring. GARFO's 
Protected Resources Division then will provide a brief recap of the 
timeline for implementing Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan 
(ALWTRP) modifications. The On-Demand Fishing Gear Conflict Working 
Group then will provide an update on recent activities. The Council 
will approve the working group's terms of reference. Next, the Council 
will receive an update on a joint New England/Mid-Atlantic Council 
action to reduce monkfish and dogfish large-mesh gillnet fishery 
interactions with Atlantic sturgeon. The Council will implement the 
monkfish changes through Framework Adjustment 15 to the Monkfish FMP. 
The Council also will receive a presentation on recommendations to 
improve the Monkfish Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program's effectiveness. 
The Council will discuss and approve these RSA recommendations.
    Following the lunch break, The Council will receive an update on 
Framework Adjustment 12 to the Northeast Skate Complex FMP, which 
proposes 2024-2025 fishery specifications and measures to expand the 
possession of smooth and barndoor skates. The Council then will take up 
the Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) Committee report and 
discuss next steps in using the EBFM prototype management strategy 
evaluation (pMSE) final report to engage stakeholders in potential 2024 
deep-dive workshops about EBFM. Finally, the Council will hold its 
initial discussion on 2024 Council Priorities before closing 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: September 1, 2023.
Rey Israel Marquez,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-19317 Filed 9-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P