Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 146 / Tuesday, August 3, 2021 / Notices 41831 

Dated: July 28, 2021. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16466 Filed 8–2–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB280] 

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

hold a four-day meeting to consider 

actions affecting the Gulf of Mexico 

fisheries in the exclusive economic zone 

(EEZ). 

DATES: The meeting will convene 

Monday, August 23 at 8:15 a.m. to 5:30 

p.m., CDT. Tuesday, August 24, 2021 

through Wednesday, August 25, 2021 at 

8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., CDT and on 

Thursday August 26, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. 

to 5 p.m. CDT. 

ADDRESSES: 

Meeting address: The meeting will 

take place at the Hilton Palacio del Rio, 

200 South Alamo Street, San Antonio, 

TX 78205. 

Please note, meeting attendees will be 

expected to follow any current COVID– 

19 safety protocols as determined by the 

Council, hotel and the City of San 

Antonio. Such precautions may include 

masks, room capacity restrictions, and/ 

or social distancing. If you prefer to 

‘‘listen in’’, you may access the log-on 

information by visiting our website at 

www.gulfcouncil.org. 

Council address: Gulf of Mexico 

Fishery Management Council, 4107 W. 

Spruce Street, Suite 200, Tampa, FL 

33607; telephone: (813) 348–1630. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Carrie Simmons, Executive Director, 

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

Council; telephone: (813) 348–1630. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Agenda 

Monday, August 23, 2021; 8:15 a.m.– 

5:30 p.m. 

The meeting will begin open to the 

public with Full Council Session to 

Induct New Council Members and ReAppoint Council members. Committee 

sessions will begin at 8:30 a.m. with the 

Administrative/Budget Committee will 

discuss modifications to the Statement 

of Organization Practices and 

Procedures (SOPPs) for Scientific and 

Statistical Committees (SSC) 

Memberships and SSC’s Best Voting 

Practices and Procedures. The 

Committee will receive a presentation 

on the 2019–20 Audit Results and 

discuss SSC Stipends. 

The Shrimp Committee will receive 

an update on Effort Data Collection for 

2021, review Draft Framework Action: 

Modifications to the Gulf of Mexico 

Federal Shrimp Fishery Effort 

Monitoring and Reporting, and Section 

7 Consultation on the Shrimp Industry 

and Protected Species. 

The Mackerel Committee will 

convene after lunch. They will review 

Coastal Migratory Pelagics (CMP) 

Landings, Public Hearing Draft 

Amendment 32: Modifications to the 

Gulf of Mexico Migratory Group Cobia 

Catch Limits, Possession Limits, Size 

Limits and Framework Procedure, 

receive clarification on Gulf King 

Mackerel Commercial Historical 

Landings Data and SSC 

recommendations, and review Draft 

Amendment 33: Modifications to the 

Gulf of Mexico Migratory Group King 

Mackerel Catch Limits and Sector 

Allocations and CMP Advisory Panel 

recommendations. 

The Sustainable Fisheries Committee 

will receive an update on Historical 

Captain Permits Conversion; review 

National Standard 1 (NS1) Technical 

Guidance Subgroup 3 Technical 

Memo—Managing with Annual Catch 

Limits (ACLs) for Data-limited Stocks in 

Federal Fishery Management Plans and 

Using Field Experiments to Assess 

Alternative Mechanisms for Distributing 

Fish to the Recreational Sector, and SSC 

Recommendations. 

The public meeting will adjourn for 

the day at approximately 4:15 p.m. and 

the Council will move in to a Full 

Council—Closed Session for the 

remainder of the day for the Selection 

of Special Coral, Mackerel and Shrimp 

Scientific and Statistical Committee 

(SSC) Members. 

Tuesday, August 24, 2021; 8:30 a.m.– 

5:30 p.m. 

The Reef Fish Committee will 

convene to review Reef Fish Landings 

and Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) 

Landings, Draft Framework Action: 

Modification of Gulf of Mexico Red 

Grouper Annual Catch Limits and 

receive a presentation on Greater 

Amberjack Calibrated Landings and 

Catch Limits, and Proposed 

Management Alternatives. The 

Committee will review and discuss 

Implementation of the DESCEND Act of 

2020, Updates on 2021 Red Snapper 

State Management Programs, Final 

Document—Framework Action: Gulf of 

Mexico Red Snapper Recreational Data 

Calibration and Recreational Catch 

Limits, Reef Fish Amendments 36B and 

36C: Modifications to Individual 

Fishing Quota (IFQ) Programs, and Draft 

Snapper Grouper Amendment 44 and 

Reef Fish Amendment 55: Modifications 

to Southeastern U.S. Yellowtail Snapper 

Jurisdictional Allocations, Catch Limits, 

and South Atlantic Sector Annual Catch 

Limits. The Committee will receive a 

presentation on Sector Separation for 

Four Reef Fish Species. 

Immediately following the Reef Fish 

Committee Virtual and In-person Gulf of 

Mexico Fishery Management Council 

and National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) will hold an 

informal Question and Answer Session. 

Wednesday, August 25, 2021; 8:30 a.m.– 

5:30 p.m. 

The Data Collection Committee will 

receive an update on Southeast For-hire 

Electronic Reporting (SEFHIER) 

Program and a presentation on Draft 

Options for Electronic Reporting due to 

Equipment Failure. 

The Habitat Protection and 

Restoration Committee will receive a 

presentation from Bureau of Ocean 

Energy Management (BOEM) on 

Renewable Wind Energy and review 

Draft: Generic Essential Fish Habitat 

Amendment and SSC recommendations. 

The Law Enforcement Committee will 

review the meeting summary from the 

March 2021 meeting and approve the 

Cooperative Law Enforcement Strategic 

Plan 2021–24 and Operations Plan 

2021–22. 

Following lunch, at approximately 

1:30 p.m., the Council will reconvene 

with a Call to Order, Announcements 

and Introductions, presentation of the 

2020 Law Enforcement Team of the Year 

Award, Adoption of Agenda and 

Approval of Minutes. The Council will 

receive presentations on Movement 

Patterns and Discard Mortality of Cobia 

in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and 

Assessing the Influence of Sargassum 

Habitat on Greater Amberjack 

Recruitment in the GOM. 

The Council will hold public 

testimony from 2:45 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., 

EDT for Potential Reconsideration of 

Final Document—Framework Action: 

Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper 

Recreational Data Calibration and 

Recreational Catch Limits, and open 

testimony on other fishery issues or 

concerns. Public comment may begin 

earlier than 2:45 p.m. EDT, but will not 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
41832 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 146 / Tuesday, August 3, 2021 / Notices 

conclude before that time. Persons 

wishing to give public testimony inperson must register at the registration 

kiosk in the meeting room. 

Thursday, August 26, 2021; 8:30 a.m.– 

5 p.m. 

The Council will receive committee 

reports from Administrative/Budget, 

Shrimp, Mackerel, Habitat Protection 

and Restoration, Sustainable Fisheries, 

Data Collection, Law Enforcement, and 

Reef Fish Management Committees, and 

report on the Closed Session. The 

Council will receive updates from the 

following supporting agencies: South 

Atlantic Fishery Management Council; 

Texas Law Enforcement Efforts; NOAA 

Office of Law Enforcement (OLE); Gulf 

States Marine Fisheries Commission; 

U.S. Coast Guard; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service; and Department of State. 

The Council will discuss any Other 

Business items; and, hold an Election 

for Chair and Vice-Chair. 

—Meeting Adjourns 

The meeting will be an in-person 

meeting only. You may register for the 

webinar to listen-in only by visiting 

www.gulfcouncil.org and click on the 

Council meeting on the calendar. 

The timing and order in which agenda 

items are addressed may change as 

required to effectively address the issue, 

and the latest version along with other 

meeting materials will be posted on the 

website as they become available. 

Although other non-emergency issues 

not contained in this agenda may come 

before this group for discussion, in 

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), those 

issues may not be the subject of formal 

action during these meeting. Actions 

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 MagnusonStevens Act, provided that the public 

has been notified of the Council’s intent 

to take final action to address the 

emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aid 

should be directed to Kathy Pereira, 

(813) 348–1630, at least 5 days prior to 

the meeting date. 

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

Dated: July 28, 2021. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16465 Filed 8–2–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB271] 

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

General Provisions for Domestic 

Fisheries; Application for Exempted 

Fishing Permits 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Maine Research 

Institute has requested a change to a 

previously issued exempted fishing 

permit which would result in new 

regulatory exemptions for participating 

vessels. The Assistant Regional 

Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, 

Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has 

determined that this request is outside 

the scope of the initially approved 

exempted fishing permit. As a result, 

regulations under the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act require publication of 

this notification to provide interested 

parties the opportunity to comment on 

the proposed changes to the exempted 

fishing permit previously issued to the 

Gulf of Maine Research Institute. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before August 18, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit written 

comments by the following method: 

• Email: nmfs.gar.efp@noaa.gov. 

Include in the subject line 

‘‘Modification to GMRI MREM EFP.’’ 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Spencer Talmage, Fishery Policy 

Analyst, 978–281–9232. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 

31, 2020, NMFS issued an exempted 

fishing permit (EFP) to the Gulf of 

Maine Research Institute (GMRI) in 

support of the development of 

maximized retention electronic 

monitoring (MREM) for the Northeast 

multispecies fishery. The EFP requires 

six participating vessels to retain all 

catch of undersized, allocated 

groundfish, with electronic monitoring 

(EM) used to verify compliance. The 

EFP currently exempts vessels from the 

requirement to adhere to their sector’s 

monitoring program at 50 CFR 

648.87(b)(1)(v)(B)); minimum fish size 

requirements at § 648.83(a) and 

§ 648.14(a)(7); minimum mesh size 

requirements at § 648.80; and Closed 

Area II Closure Area at § 648.81(a)(5) 

from April 16 through January 31. 

Additionally, the EFP as originally 

issued allowed vessels to use a 4.5-inch 

(11.43 cm) mesh codend rather than a 

5.5-inch (13.97 cm) mesh codend 

normally required while participating in 

the redfish sector exemption, provided 

that all other exemption area 

requirements were complied with. This 

provision was written into the terms 

and conditions of the EFP, and was not 

implemented through a regulatory 

exemption. Prior to the publication of 

Framework Adjustment 61 to the 

Northeast Multispecies Fishery 

Management Plan (86 FR 40353, July 28, 

2021), the redfish sector exemption was 

administered through sector operations 

plans which are approved each year, 

and was not defined in the regulations. 

When Framework 61 was approved 

and implemented, the redfish 

exemption was added to the list of 

universal sector exemptions, and a 

sector redfish exemption program, 

corresponding to the universal 

exemption, was described in the 

regulations. These new regulations 

define terms of the program, including 

vessel eligibility, area, gear, monitoring 

thresholds, and other administrative 

elements of the exemption program. 

Because the new regulations defining 

the sector redfish exemption program 

did not exist when the EFP was issued 

to GMRI, the EFP does not currently 

exempt participating vessels from any of 

them. Because Framework 61 is now 

effective, vessels participating in this 

EFP are no longer be able to participate 

in the sector redfish exemption program 

using 4.5-inch (11.43 cm) mesh as was 

intended. 

On June 25, 2021, GMRI requested a 

modification to the EFP which would 

add an exemption to the minimum 

codend mesh size requirement for 

vessels fishing in the sector redfish 

exemption program, at 

§ 648.85(e)(1)(vii)(A). Additionally, the 

modification would revise the 

conditions and requirements of the EFP 

that address the sector redfish 

exemption program to account for the 

additional exemption issued to vessels 

participating in the EFP. These 

modifications allow the participating 

vessels to continue fishing under the 

provisions of the sector redfish 

exemption program with 4.5-inch (11.43 

cm) codend mesh, as they have since 

the original issuance of the EFP. 


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