New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice; public meeting.

SUMMARY:

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Herring Committee to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

DATES:

This meeting will be held on Thursday, September 14, 2017 at 9 a.m.

ADDRESSES:

Meeting address: The meeting will be held at the Four Points by Sheraton, 1 Audubon Road, Wakefield, MA 01880; telephone: (781) 245-9300.

Council address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Agenda

The Committee will review analyses prepared for Amendment 8 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). Measures include alternative Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) control rules and measures to address potential localized depletion and user conflicts in the herring fishery. The committee may identify preferred alternatives for the Council to consider. They will also discuss recommendations for the Council to consider for 2018 work priorities for the Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The Council is scheduled to have an initial discussion of potential 2018 priorities at the September Council meeting. The committee will discuss if there are any regulations in the Herring FMP that could be eliminated, improved, or streamlined. Several recent Executive Orders have been issued about streamlining current regulations, and NOAA is seeking public input on the efficiency and effectiveness of current regulations and whether they can be improved. All Committee recommendations on these topics would be forwarded to the Council for consideration. Other business will be discussed as necessary.

Although other non-emergency issues not on the agenda may come before this group for discussion, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this 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 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. This meeting will be recorded. Consistent with 16 U.S.C. 1852, a copy of the recording is available upon request. 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.