40092 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 143 / Monday, July 27, 1998 / Proposed Rules

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 072098C]

New England Fishery Management

Council; Public Meeting

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Public meeting.

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery

Management Council (Council) will

hold a 2-day public meeting on August

10 and August 11, 1998, to consider

actions affecting New England fisheries

in the exclusive economic zone.

DATES: The meeting will be held on

Monday, August 10, 1998, at 9 a.m. and

on Tuesday, August 11, at 8:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Peabody Marriott Hotel, 8A

Centennial Drive, Peabody, MA 01960;

telephone (978) 977–9700. Requests for

special accommodations should be

addressed to the New England Fishery

Management Council, 5 Broadway,

Saugus, MA 01906–1097; telephone:

(781) 231–0422.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul

J. Howard, Executive Director, New

England Fishery Management Council

(781) 231–0422.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Monday, August 10, 1998

There will be a Stock Assessment

Public Review Workshop on the status

of haddock, Gulf of Maine cod, Georges

Bank cod and Georges Bank yellowtail

flounder, Southern New England

yellowtail flounder, Atlantic herring,

scup, black sea bass, and ocean quahogs.

A special agenda item will be the

initiation of consideration of emergency

action for Gulf of Maine cod. The

Groundfish Committee will then review

public comments and committee and

advisory panel recommendations on

Amendment 9 to the Fishery

Management Plan (FMP) for the

Northeast Multispecies Fishery. The

measures being considered for final

approval at this meeting are associated

with new overfishing definitions and

the specification of optimum yield (OY)

as required by the Sustainable Fisheries

Act, rebuilding winter flounder stocks,

conserving Atlantic halibut, mesh size

changes to reduce the bycatch of

flounders, and a prohibition of

streetsweeper trawl gear. The committee

will also review other issues under its

consideration: The inclusion of cusk

and wolffish in the FMP management

unit, the transfer of days-at-sea (DAS),

and the upcoming annual FMP

adjustment (including measures to

protect Gulf of Maine cod).

During the afternoon session, the

Council will approve a public hearing

document for the whiting amendment to

the Northeast Multispecies FMP,

including any new options brought

before the Council, and the associated

Draft Supplemental Environmental

Impact Statement. Measures in the

public hearing document will include

revised overfishing definitions and the

specification of OY, a moratorium on

commercial whiting permits,

restrictions on the transfer of whiting

and red hake at sea, options for

management through whiting DAS, and

management alternatives for northern

and southern management areas and the

Cultivator Shoal fishery. The Habitat

Committee will review public

comments received on the Essential

Fish Habitat (EFH) Amendment

followed by consideration and approval

of final designations for EFH and

Habitat Areas of Particular Concern

(HAPC), including management

measures associated with the juvenile

cod HAPCs. The day will conclude with

the Herring Committee report, during

which the Council will review public

comments, committee and advisory

panel recommendations, and vote on

final management measures for

inclusion in the Atlantic Herring FMP.

August 11, 1998

During the Sea Scallop Committee

Report, there will be a briefing on the

Council’s Scientific and Statistical

Committee review of the sea scallop

overfishing definition, scientific

information on which management

measures are based, and the stock

rebuilding proposals under

consideration for inclusion in

Amendment 7 to the Atlantic Sea

Scallop FMP. There will also be

consideration of committee and

advisory panel recommendations and

public comments on the Amendment 7

proposals to rebuild stocks, followed by

approval of measures by the Council.

The report will include an update on

the status of the experimental fishery for

scallops in the Georges Bank closed

areas. During the Monkfish Committee

Report, the Council will review and

approve the final Monkfish FMP

documents for submission to the

Secretary of Commerce. Following the

election of 1998–99 Council officers, the

Interspecies Committee will ask for

approval of an amendment that would

improve consistency among New

England and Mid-Atlantic Council

fishery management plans concerning

vessel permitting and upgrading. This

action would amend the New England

Council’s Atlantic Sea Scallop,

Northeast Multispecies and American

Lobster Plans and the Mid-Atlantic

Council’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and

Black Sea Bass Plan, the Atlantic

Mackerel, Squid and Butterfish Plan,

and the Atlantic Surf Clam and Ocean

Quahog Plan. Comments on the NMFS

draft report to Congress titled ‘‘Proposed

Implementation of a Fishing Vessel

Registration and Fisheries Management

Information System’’ will also be

approved. The Mid-Atlantic Plans

Committee will ask for approval of a

Council position on mackerel joint

venture allocations, summer flounder

discards, and other issues, as well as

seek approval of a public hearing

document for dogfish management

measures. Following any other

outstanding business, the day will

conclude with reports from the Council

Chairman, Executive Director, NMFS

Northeast Region Administrator,

Northeast Fisheries Science Center and

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management

Council liaisons, and representatives of

the Coast Guard and the Atlantic States

Marine Fisheries Commission.

Although other issues not contained

in this agenda may come before this

Council for discussion, in accordance

with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act,

those issues may not be the subject of

formal Council action during this

meeting. Council action will be

restricted to those issues specifically

listed in this notice.

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.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

Dated: July 21, 1998.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98–19989 Filed 7–24–98; 8:45 am]

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