[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 11, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43995-43996]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17051]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XB301]


East Coast Fisheries of the United States; Public Meetings; 
Request for Comments

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

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

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SUMMARY: Several fishery management bodies on the East Coast of the 
Atlantic Ocean are convening three public webinars to introduce a 
project called East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning. This is a 
joint effort of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission 
(ASMFC), the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), the Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC), the South Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council (SAFMC), and NOAA Fisheries. These webinars will 
introduce stakeholders to the overall initiative, present draft 
objectives, discuss potential outcomes, explain the general

[[Page 43996]]

focus of the work, and collect initial stakeholder input.

DATES: These webinars will be held on Monday, August 30, 2021, at 4 
p.m.-5:30 p.m.; Wednesday, September 1, 2021, at 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m.; 
Thursday, September 2, 2021, at 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: All meeting participants and interested parties are strongly 
encouraged to register in advance of any webinar they are interested in 
attending. Meeting links for each webinar can be located at: https://www.mafmc.org/climate-change-scenario-planning.
    Meeting addresses: The meetings will be held via webinar (see 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, 
New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492. 
Contact information and individual staff members working on this 
initiative can be found here: https://www.mafmc.org/climate-change-scenario-planning.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Climate change is a growing threat to marine fisheries worldwide. 
On the East coast of the United States, there is evidence of climate-
related shifts in distribution, abundance, and/or productivity of 
fishery resources. It is uncertain what the next couple of decades will 
bring, and how fishery management programs can best prepare to meet the 
challenges ahead. Over the next year, this joint effort will bring 
together researchers, fishery managers, fishery participants and others 
to discuss these questions and emerge with ideas and recommendations 
for how fishery management can potentially adapt to climate change.
    The management bodies in this region have decided to employ a 
scenario planning framework to discuss these issues. Scenario planning 
is a way of exploring how fishery management may need to evolve over 
the next few decades as climate change becomes a bigger issue. 
Specifically, scenarios are stories about possible future developments. 
This approach is designed to help stakeholders and managers think 
broadly about the future implications of climate change to help define 
what changes can potentially be made now to be better prepared.
    These introductory webinars are the first step of a multi-year 
scenario planning effort. Staff will explain the overall initiative and 
share draft objectives, possible outcomes and focus of the work. There 
will be a presentation introducing the basics of scenario planning and 
potential benefits of engaging in the process. At the end of the 
webinar there will be an opportunity for small group discussions for 
participants to share feedback and suggestions on the information 
presented and proposed. Additional details about the webinars will be 
posted to this page once available: https://www.mafmc.org/climate-change-scenario-planning.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Thomas A. Nies, Executive 
Director, at (978) 465-0492, at least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

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

    Dated: August 5, 2021.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-17051 Filed 8-10-21; 8:45 am]
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