2011-20193. 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 Whiting Advisory Panel, in August 2011, 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:

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at 10 a.m.

ADDRESSES:

The meeting will be held at the Hotel Providence, 139 Mathewson Street, Providence, RI 02903; telephone: [phone]; fax: [phone].

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Whiting Advisory Panel will develop and recommend potential management alternatives for Multispecies FMP Amendment 19 for the small mesh fishery. These alternatives will include Annual Catch Limit (ACL) measures (allocations, buffers for management uncertainty, landings limits), Accountability Measures (AM), and possibly other measures to regulate the fishery and prevent catches from exceeding the ACL. The Advisory Panel will begin the meeting with a closed door session to elect a chair and vice-chair.

Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come before this group for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this meeting. Actions 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 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 Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, at [phone], at least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

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

Dated: August 4, 2011.

William D. Chappell,

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