2015-10189. 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 Scientific & Statistical 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 Wednesday, May 20, 2015 at 9 a.m.

ADDRESSES:

The meeting will be held at the Four Points by Sheraton, 407 Squire Road, Revere, MA 02151; telephone: [phone]; fax: [phone].

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: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Agenda Items

The Committee will review the results of the recent operational stock assessment for Atlantic herring and develop recommendations for acceptable biological catch (ABC) for the 2016-18 fishing years, as well as other related recommendations. The Committee may not develop all of the recommendations for this stock at one meeting.

They will review/discuss progress of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) Plan Development Team (PDT) towards developing ecological guidance for the Council to consider when developing alternatives for the Atlantic herring ABC control rule in Amendment 8 to the Herring FMP. The committee may review and add to the comments it provided the Council on the proposed revisions to the Magnuson-Stevens Act National Standard Guidelines 1, 3, 5 and 7. They will address other business as necessary.

Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come before these groups for discussion, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this meeting. 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 Magnuson-Stevens 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 Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, at [phone], at least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

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

Dated: April 28, 2015.

Tracey L. Thompson,

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