Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 109 / Tuesday, June 8, 2010 / Notices 32375 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XW84 

New England 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 New England Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

hold a three-day Council meeting on 

Tuesday through Thursday, June 22–24, 

2010, to consider actions affecting New 

England fisheries in the exclusive 

economic zone (EEZ). 

DATES: The meeting will begin on 

Tuesday, June 22 at 9 a.m. and 

Wednesday and Thursday, June 23–24, 

beginning at 8:30 a.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Eastland Park Hotel,157 High Street, 

Portland, ME 04101; telephone: (207) 

775–5411; fax: (207) 775–2872. 

Council address: New England 

Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 

Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

J. Howard, Executive Director, New 

England Fishery Management Council; 

telephone: (978) 465–0492. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Tuesday, June 22, 2010 

Following introductions and any 

announcements, the Council meeting 

will begin with a series of brief reports 

from the Council Chairman and 

Executive Director, the NOAA Fisheries 

Regional Administrator, Northeast 

Region, Northeast Fisheries Science 

Center and Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council liaisons, NOAA 

General Counsel, representatives of the 

U.S. Coast Guard and the Atlantic States 

Marine Fisheries Commission, as well 

as NOAA Enforcement. The 

Enforcement Committee will then report 

about simplifying and enforcing fishing 

regulations, including those associated 

with sector management, and provide 

an update about improving relations 

with stakeholders. This will be followed 

by a separate U.S. Coast Guard 

presentation that addresses safety at sea 

relative to the problem of ageing fishing 

vessels. During the Tuesday afternoon 

session, the Northeast Regional Ocean 

Council will provide a briefing on its 

mission and objectives and discuss its 

potential relationship with the NEFMC; 

and the Habitat Committee will bring 

forward for Council consideration 

alternative management measures to 

reduce or spatially optimize the adverse 

effects of fishing on essential fish 

habitat. The measures are under 

consideration for inclusion in Habitat 

Omnibus Amendment 2, an action 

which would amend all NEFMC Fishery 

Management Plans (FMPs). 

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 

During the morning session, the 

Council will address only multispecies 

groundfish management-related issues. 

These will include: initial action on 

Framework Adjustment 45 to the 

Northeast Multispecies FMP. Measures 

under consideration include possible 

modification of the Georges Bank 

yellowtail flounder stock rebuilding 

strategy, new sector requests and a 

general category scallop dredge 

exemption for yellowtail flounder in the 

Great South Channel. Other Framework 

45 measures include a party/charter 

boat limited entry control date, a Gulf of 

Maine winter flounder zero possession 

limit, accountability measures and 

permit banks in the groundfish fishery. 

Additional discussion is scheduled to 

consider the possibility of an 

amendment to address fleet diversity 

and accumulation limits for this fishery 

and an update on activities associated 

with the Joint Groundfish/Sea Scallop 

Committee. The afternoon session will 

begin with an overview of the status of 

spiny dogfish by the staff of the 

Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 

followed by the Scientific and Statistical 

Committee’s (SSC) report on its most 

recent meeting. The SSC’s topics 

include a recommendation for a revised 

red crab Acceptable Biological Catch 

(ABC) to now include discards, an ABC 

for Atlantic salmon and reports on 

progress to date concerning its ABC 

control rules, five-year research 

priorities and an ecosystem-based 

fisheries management white paper. This 

report will be followed by Council 

actions to revise the red crab ABC and 

set the Atlantic salmon ABC. The day 

will end with a review of analyses and 

public comments concerning a 

monkfish management alternative 

proposed at the last Council meeting. If 

approved, the addition of this 

management measure will constitute the 

final action on Amendment 5 to the 

Monkfish FMP. 

Thursday, June 24, 2010 

The last day of the June Council 

meeting will include a review of any 

experimental fishery permit 

applications that have been received 

since the last Council meeting, 

revisiting Council work priorities based 

on comments from the April Council 

meeting and an open period for public 

comments. The open public period is an 

opportunity for interested parties to 

provide brief comments on issues 

relevant to Council business but not 

listed on the meeting agenda. There also 

will be a report by NOAA Fisheries on 

recreational fishing issues. The Sea 

Scallop Committee also will begin their 

report during the morning session on 

Thursday and may take initial action on 

Framework Adjustment 22 to the 

Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP. The primary 

purpose of the action is to set fishery 

specifications for the 2011–12 fishing 

years. The action also will include 

measures to minimize the risk sea 

scallop gear/incidental encounters with 

sea turtles. The Council also will review 

and finalize scallop research 

recommendations that will apply to the 

fishery management plan’s research setaside program. Before adjournment, the 

Council may address any other 

outstanding business related to this 

meeting. 

Although other non-emergency issues 

not contained in this agenda may come 

before this Council for discussion, those 

issues may not be the subjects 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 MagnusonStevens Act, provided that the public 

has been notified of the Council’s intent 

to take final action to address the 

emergency. 

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. 

Dated: June 2, 2010. 

William D. Chappell, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–13567 Filed 6–7–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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