[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 177 (Thursday, September 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52830-52831]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-21094]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XK35


New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

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

ACTION: Notice; public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council's (Council) Herring 
Oversight Committee will meet to consider actions affecting New England 
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 9:30 
a.m. and Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 9 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) 
775-1066.
    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: The items of discussion in the committee's 
agenda are as follows:
    1. The Committee will continue development of recommendations for 
Council consideration in October regarding the specific management 
measures to be considered further in Amendment 4 to the Atlantic 
Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP);
    2. The agenda will include a discussion of management alternatives 
related to catch monitoring, including but not limited to: specific 
monitoring and reporting requirements for herring vessels and 
processors, observer coverage and at-sea monitoring, shoreside/dockside 
monitoring and sampling, vessel monitoring system (VMS) requirements, 
as well as other measures that were suggested for consideration during 
the scoping process;
    3. Review and discuss preliminary analysis of river herring bycatch 
in the Atlantic herring fishery and comparison of portside and at-sea 
and observer bycatch information from the Atlantic herring fishery for 
selected species of interest from 2005-07; develop related 
recommendations as appropriate;
    4. Review of information related to at-sea monitoring and observer 
coverage, which may include information about observer programs in 
other regions, industry-funded observer programs, applications for 
electronic monitoring, and cost comparisons; develop recommendations as 
appropriate;
    5. Review and discuss proposed management measures to address 
herring bycatch concerns in the Atlantic mackerel fishery; develop 
recommendations as appropriate;
    6. Address any other issues and develop recommendations related to 
Amendment 4 to the Herring FMP, possibly including annual catch limits 
(ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs), and individual and group 
quota

[[Page 52831]]

allocation programs (i.e., IFQs and sectors;
    7. Develop Herring Committee recommendations regarding cooperative 
research priorities for the 2010 research set-aside (RSA) program.
    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 identified in this notice and any issues 
arising after publication of this notice that require emergency action 
under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act, provided 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.

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

    Dated: September 8, 2008.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-21094 Filed 9-10-08; 8:45 am]
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