2022-17389. New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice of a public meeting.

SUMMARY:

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Groundfish Recreational Advisory Panel to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This meeting will be held in-person without a webinar option. 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, August 31, 2022, at 1:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES:

The meeting will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn, 100 Boardman Street, Boston, MA 02129; phone: [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

The Groundfish Recreational Advisory Panel will discuss development of draft Framework Adjustment 65 specifications and measures: status determination criteria, rebuilding plans for Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) winter flounder, FY2023-FY2024 US/CA total allowable catches, FY2023-FY2024 specifications: Georges Bank (GB) yellowtail flounder and GB cod (including a catch target for the recreational fishery), FY2023-FY2025 specifications for 14 stocks, additional measures to promote stock rebuilding for GB cod, GOM cod and SNE/MA winter flounder, and revised acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rules, in consultation with the Scientific and Statistical Committee. The Panel will also discuss the development of a draft white paper on potential approaches to allocate “Georges Bank cod” to the recreational fishery delivered in 2022 to inform the 2023 priorities discussion as well as possible groundfish priorities for 2023. They will discuss and provide input to the Groundfish Committee on updating NOAA's National Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Policy. They will also make recommendations to the Groundfish Committee, as appropriate, and discuss other business, as necessary.

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 these meetings. 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 date. This meeting will be recorded. Consistent with 16 U.S.C. 1852, a copy of the recording is available upon request.

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

Dated: August 9, 2022.

Rey Israel Marquez,

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