2015-32490. Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC); Public Meeting

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice; public meeting.

SUMMARY:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (MAFMC) Ecosystem and Ocean Planning Advisory Panel (AP) will hold a public webinar meeting.

DATES:

The meeting will be held on Monday, January 11, 2016 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. For agenda details, see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES:

The meeting will be held via webinar with a with a telephone-only connection option. Connection details are available at: http://www.mafmc.org.

Council address: Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 N. State Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901; telephone: [phone]; Web site: www.mafmc.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D., Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council; telephone: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The MAFMC's Ecosystem and Ocean Planning AP will meet to provide input on the development of the Council's Unmanaged Forage Omnibus Amendment. This amendment will prohibit the development of new, or expansion of existing, directed fisheries on unmanaged forage species in Mid-Atlantic Federal waters until adequate scientific information is available to promote ecosystem sustainability. The webinar will include a discussion of development of the amendment to date. The AP will then be asked to provide input on preliminary management alternatives, a draft list of unmanaged forage species to be addressed in the amendment, and other aspects of the amendment.

Special Accommodations

The meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aid should be directed to M. Jan Saunders, [phone], at least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

Dated: December 21, 2015.

Tracey L. Thompson,

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