E3-00553. Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY:

The Trawl Survey Advisory Committee, composed of representatives from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC), the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), and several independent scientific researchers, will hold a public meeting.

DATES:

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 6, 2004, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesday, January 7, 2004, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

ADDRESSES:

The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Providence Airport Hotel, 1850 Post Road, Warwick, RI; telephone: [phone].

Council address: Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 300 S. New Street, Room 2115, Dover, DE 19904.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Daniel T. Furlong, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council; telephone: [phone], ext. 19.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The purpose of this meeting is to assist the NEFSC in developing effective and consistent trawl survey protocols and practices for the trawl surveys. The Committee will be describing what they envision the scientific sampling gear should do in terms of the sampling focus and performance. They will be making recommendations on the size of the trawl doors.

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 Joanna Davis at the Mid-Atlantic Council Office (see ADDRESSES) at least five days prior to the meeting date.

Dated: December 10, 2003.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.