[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 122 (Monday, June 25, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33662-33663]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-15896]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 061901E]


New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings

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

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is 
scheduling a public meeting of its Scallop Advisory Panel, Scallop 
Oversight Committee and Groundfish Oversight Committee in July, 2001 to 
consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive 
economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from these groups will be brought 
to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if 
appropriate.

DATES: The meetings will be held on July 9-11, 2001. See SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION for specific dates and times.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held in Warwick, RI and Wakefield, MA. 
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific locations.

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New 
England Fishery Management Council; (978) 465-0492.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Meeting Dates and Agendas

    Monday, July 9, 2001, 10 a.m.--Scallop Advisory Panel Meeting.
    Location: Radisson Airport Hotel, 2081 Post Road, Warwick, RI 
02886; telephone: (401) 732-3000.
    The Advisory Panel will review the Plan Development Team, (PDT) 
recommendations for Amendment 10 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP). They will report to the Scallop Oversight 
Committee at their meeting on July 10-11, 2001 and provide advice on 
these recommendations for management alternatives or make other 
recommendations.
    Monday, July 9, 2001, 9:30 a.m.--Groundfish Oversight Committee 
Meeting.
    Location: Sheraton Colonial Hotel, One Audubon Road Wakefield, MA 
01880; telephone: (781) 245-9300.
    The Oversight Committee will meet to consider management options 
for Framework Adjustment 36 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP. 
Framework 36 was initiated by the Council in January, 2001, to address 
the following issues: reducing excessive regulatory discards of Gulf of 
Maine cod resulting from a trip limit, meeting the fishing mortality 
objectives for Gulf of Maine cod, extending and/or adjusting the 
Western Gulf of Maine closure (currently scheduled to open May 1, 
2002), considering allowing access to groundfish closures by tuna purse 
seine vessels, and expanding the area for the northern shrimp exempted 
fishery. At this meeting, the Committee will identify alternative 
management measures to meet these objectives. They may also consider 
recommending to the full Council that other objectives be addressed by 
the framework. The recommendations of the Committee will be considered 
by the Council at the July 24-26, 2001 Council meeting. While the 
meeting will focus on Framework 36, if time permits, the Committee may 
consider issues related to the ongoing development of Amendment 13 and 
may plan how to address remaining issues for this amendment.
    Tuesday, July 10, 2001 at 9:30 a.m. and Wednesday, July 11, 2001 at 
8:30 a.m.--Scallop Oversight Committee Meeting.
    Location: Radisson Airport Hotel, 2081 Post Road, Warwick, RI 
02886; telephone: (401) 732-3000.
    The Scallop Oversight Committee will review the package of 
management alternatives developed by the PDT,

[[Page 33663]]

consider advice from the July 9, 2001 Advisory Panel meeting, and 
advise the Council on which alternatives should be further analyzed and 
described in the Amendment 10 public hearing document. The oversight 
committee's recommendations may be that some alternatives need to be 
changed or omitted from the developing Amendment 10 document. The 
committee will also discuss consideration of a control date for vessels 
that target sea scallops while not on a scallop day-at-sea; a control 
date is needed because the Council is considering whether to limit 
general category vessel access in Amendment 10; (the control date could 
apply to any vessel with or without a general category permit and/or to 
vessels that have a limited access scallop permit and that fish for sea 
scallops while not on a day-at-sea). The Advisory Panel or Oversight 
Committee may also recommend adding alternatives to Amendment 10 that 
were not proposed by the Plan Development Team. The formal Draft 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) and public hearing 
document will be reviewed and approved by the Council at the November 
6-8 meeting, before public hearings on the proposals.
    Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come 
before this group for discussion, those issues may not be the subject 
of formal action during this meeting. 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 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 aids should be directed to Paul J. Howard (see ADDRESSES) at 
least 5 days prior to the meeting dates.

    Dated: June 20, 2001.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-15896 Filed 6-22-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S