New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting, 74767-74769 [2016-25999]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 208 / Thursday, October 27, 2016 / Notices for Wednesday, November 9, 2016, at 9 a.m. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465–0492. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The original notice was published in the Federal Register on Thursday, October 20, 2016, (81 FR 72574). The meeting will be rescheduled at a later dated and announced in the Federal Register. Dated: October 24, 2016. Tracey L. Thompson, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2016–25997 Filed 10–26–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P specifications for FY 2017–19 and DAS allocation and/or possession limit alternatives. The Committee will select preferred alternatives for Framework. They will 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 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 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 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 (978) 465–0492, at least 5 days prior to the meeting date. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RIN 0648–XE998 New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice; public meeting. AGENCY: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Monkfish 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 Monday, November 14, 2016 at 10 a.m. ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Hotel Viking, One Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI 02840; telephone: (401) 847–3300. 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: (978) 465–0492. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: Agenda The Monkfish Committee will receive an update on Plan Development Team (PDT) analysis on Days-at-sea (DAS) allocation and trip limits. They will also receive an overview from the Monkfish PDT on draft alternatives and impacts for Framework 10 regarding VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:43 Oct 26, 2016 Jkt 241001 Dated: October 24, 2016. Tracey L. Thompson, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2016–26004 Filed 10–26–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice of public meeting. AGENCY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Groundfish Plan Team will meet in November in Seattle, WA. DATES: The meeting will be held on Monday, November 14, 2016 to Friday, November 18, 2016, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. SUMMARY: The meeting will be held at the Alaska Fishery Science Center Traynor Room 2076, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., Building 4, Seattle, WA 98115. Council address: North Pacific Fishery Management Council, 605 W. ADDRESSES: Frm 00006 Fmt 4703 4th Ave., Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 99501–2252; telephone: (907) 271–2809. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diana Stram or Jim Armstrong, Council staff; telephone: (907) 271–2809. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Agenda Monday, November 14 to Friday, November 18, 2016 The Plan Teams will compile and review the annual Groundfish Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) reports, (including the Economic Report, the Ecosystems Consideration Chapter, and the stock assessments for BSAI and GOA groundfishes), and recommend final groundfish harvest specifications for 2017/18. The Agenda is subject to change, and the latest version will be posted at https://www.npfmc.org/fisherymanagement-plan-team/goa-bsaigroundfish-plan-team/. Special Accommodations These meetings are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Shannon Gleason at (907) 271–2809 at least 7 working days prior to the meeting date. Dated: October 24, 2016. Tracey L. Thompson, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2016–26005 Filed 10–26–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE RIN 0648–XF001 PO 00000 74767 Sfmt 4703 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RIN 0648–XE994 New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice of public meeting. AGENCY: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council, NEFMC) will hold a three-day meeting to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, November 15, 16, and 17, 2016, beginning at 9 a.m. on November 15, 8:30 a.m. on November 16, and 8:30 a.m. on November 17. SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\27OCN1.SGM 27OCN1 74768 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 208 / Thursday, October 27, 2016 / Notices The meeting will be held at the Hotel Viking, 1 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI 02840; telephone: (401) 847–3300; online at www.hotelviking.com. Council address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; telephone: (978) 465–0492; www.nefmc.org. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465–0492, ext. 113. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: ADDRESSES: sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES Agenda Tuesday, November 15, 2016 After introductions and brief announcements, the meeting will begin with reports from the Council Chairman and Executive Director, NMFS’s Regional Administrator for the Greater Atlantic Regional Office (GARFO), liaisons from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, representatives from NOAA General Counsel and the Office of Law Enforcement, and staff from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard. Following these reports, the Council will hear from its Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)/ Enforcement Committee, which will: (1) Update the Council on work being done to develop a codend certification program; (2) provide a brief overview of the Anthropocene Institute’s mapping project; and (3) provide initial input on measures under consideration in Atlantic Herring Framework Adjustment 5 and Atlantic Herring Amendment 8. Next, the Skate Committee will present a Skate Monitoring Report with an overview on stock status, landings, and revenue for the seven skate species being managed by the Council. Afterward, the Council is expected to approve a scoping document for Amendment 5 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to consider limited access in the fishery. Next, the Council will receive a presentation from the NMFS Highly Migratory Species (HMS) staff on Draft Amendment 5b to the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP, which is being developed to end overfishing and rebuild dusky sharks. After a lunch break, the Council will hear from its Monkfish Committee and take final action on Framework Adjustment 10 to the Monkfish FMP, which will set fishing year 2017–19 specifications and, if needed, additional measures. Next, the Council will receive VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:43 Oct 26, 2016 Jkt 241001 a progress report from its Small Mesh Multispecies (Whiting) Committee regarding limited access options being developed for Amendment 22. The Council will close out the day with a Habitat Committee report, which will include an overview of the preliminary impacts analysis for the Council’s Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral Amendment. The Council also will discuss Coral Amendment alternatives that overlap with the new Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument and, finally, consider a management action to implement fishing regulations in the monument area. Following adjournment, NMFS will hold a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. in the Council meeting room on Draft Amendment 5b to the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP. Wednesday, November 16, 2016 The second day of the meeting will begin with a report from the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), which will present Atlantic sea scallop overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) recommendations for the 2017 scallop fishing year and OFL and ABC defaults for the 2018 fishing year. The SSC also may discuss issues related to improving control rules and ABC recommendations for groundfish and other stocks. The Scallop Committee report will directly follow the SSC. At this point, the Council will take final action on Framework Adjustment 28 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP, which includes: (1) Specifications for fishing year 2017 with default measures for 2018; (2) a measure to restrict the possession of shell stock inshore of the days-at-sea demarcation line north of 42° 20’ N; (3) modifications to the process for setting scallop fishery annual catch limits (ACLs); and (4) modifications to the Closed Area I Scallop Access Area boundary to be consistent with potential changes to habitat and groundfish mortality closed areas. More specifically, the 2017 specifications and 2018 default measures include: (a) Setting ABCs, ACLs, days-at-sea, and access-area allocations for both limited access (LA) and limited access general category (LAGC) vessels; (b) determining the hard total allowable catch (TAC) for the Northern Gulf of Maine Management Area; (c) setting the target TAC for the LAGC incidental catch; and (d) specifying set-aside amounts for the scallop observer and research set-aside programs. Next, members of the public will be able to speak during an open comment period on issues that relate to Council business but are not included on the published agenda for this PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 meeting. The Council asks the public to limit remarks to 3–5 minutes. Following a lunch break, the Council will go into its Groundfish Committee report and take final action on most of the measures in Framework Adjustment 56 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP. These include: (1) 2017 U.S./Canada specifications; (2) a scallop fishery subACL for northern windowpane flounder; (3) potential changes to the scallop fishery accountability measure (AM) triggers for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder; (4) a potential increase to the sub-ACL for Georges Bank haddock for the Atlantic herring midwater trawl fishery; and (5) a timely notification process for announcing recreational measures. The Council is expected to take final action on 2017–19 witch flounder specifications—the last component of Framework 56 –– at its January meeting. In another groundfishrelated item for this November meeting, the Council also will review a draft scoping notice for a Groundfish Monitoring Program Amendment. Closing out the day, the Council will receive a NMFS briefing on revisions to National Standard Guidelines 1, 3, and 7 to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Thursday, November 17, 2016 The third day of the meeting will begin with a discussion of 2017 Council priorities, followed by a final vote on the resulting list. Next, the Council will receive a NMFS briefing on the agency’s comprehensive review of observer safety issues. Then, the Council will take up the Atlantic Herring Committee report. The Council may take final action on Framework Adjustment 5 to the Atlantic Herring FMP, which includes alternatives to modify Georges Bank haddock bycatch AMs in the Atlantic herring midwater trawl fishery. The Council also will approve the agenda for a second Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) workshop, which will be held Dec. 7–8 as part of the MSE process under Amendment 8 to develop ABC control rule alternatives for the Atlantic herring fishery. Furthermore, the Council will receive an update on the development of Amendment 8 measures to address herring localized depletion. Following a lunch break, the Council will resume the Atlantic Herring Committee discussion if needed and then conclude the meeting with ‘‘other business.’’ Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come before this Council for discussion, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this meeting. Council E:\FR\FM\27OCN1.SGM 27OCN1 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 208 / Thursday, October 27, 2016 / Notices 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 MagnusonStevens Act, provided that 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 (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 days prior to the meeting date. Dated: October 24, 2016. Tracey L. Thompson, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2016–25999 Filed 10–26–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [0648–XE982] Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Applications for five scientific research permit renewals and one permit modification. AGENCY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received six scientific research permit application requests relating to Pacific salmon and steelhead. The proposed research is intended to increase knowledge of species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to help guide management and conservation efforts. The applications may be viewed online at: https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/ preview_open_for_comment.cfm. DATES: Comments or requests for a public hearing on the applications must be received at the appropriate address or fax number (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Pacific standard time on November 28, 2016. ADDRESSES: Written comments on the applications should be sent to the Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 1201 NE. Lloyd Blvd., Suite 1100, Portland, OR 97232–1274. Comments may also be sent via fax to 503–230– 5441 or by email to nmfs.nwr.apps@ noaa.gov (include the permit number in the subject line of the fax or email). sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: 17:43 Oct 26, 2016 Species Covered in This Notice The following listed species are covered in this notice: Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): Endangered upper Columbia River (UCR); threatened Snake River (SR) spring/summer (spr/ sum); threatened SR fall. Steelhead (O. mykiss): Threatened UCR; threatened SR; threatened middle Columbia River (MCR). Sockeye salmon (O. nerka): Endangered SR. Authority DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE VerDate Sep<11>2014 Rob Clapp, Portland, OR (ph: 503–231– 2314), Fax: 503–230–5441, email: Robert.Clapp@noaa.gov). Permit application instructions are available from the address above, or online at https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jkt 241001 Scientific research permits are issued in accordance with section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and regulations governing listed fish and wildlife permits (50 CFR 222–226). NMFS issues permits based on findings that such permits: (1) are applied for in good faith; (2) if granted and exercised, would not operate to the disadvantage of the listed species that are the subject of the permit; and (3) are consistent with the purposes and policy of section 2 of the ESA. The authority to take listed species is subject to conditions set forth in the permits. Anyone requesting a hearing on an application listed in this notice should set out the specific reasons why a hearing on that application would be appropriate (see ADDRESSES). Such hearings are held at the discretion of the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NMFS. Applications Received Permit 1339—4R The Nez Perce Tribe (NPT) under the authorization of the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) is seeking to renew for five years its permit to annually take adult and juvenile SR spr/sum Chinook salmon and SR steelhead while conducting research in a number of the tributaries to the Imnaha River (Cow, Lightning, Horse, Big Sheep, Camp, Little Sheep, Freezeout, Grouse, Crazyman, Mahogany, and Gumboot Creeks), the Grande Ronde River (Joseph Creek, Wenaha and Minam rivers), the Clearwater River (South Fork Clearwater River and Lolo Creek), and the Snake River (Lower Granite Dam adult trap). The Imnaha and Grande Ronde Rivers PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 74769 are in northeastern Oregon, the Clearwater is in Idaho, and the work in the Snake River would take place in Washington. The permit would be a renewal of work the NPT has been conducting for well over a decade in the Northwest. The purpose of the research is to acquire information on the status (escapement abundance, genetic structure, life history traits) of juvenile and adult steelhead in the Imnaha, Grande Ronde, and Clearwater River basins. The research would benefit the listed species by providing information on current status that fishery managers can use to determine if recovery actions are helping increase wild Snake River salmonid populations. Baseline information on steelhead populations in the Imnaha, Grande Ronde, and Clearwater River basins would also be used to help guide future management actions. Adult and juvenile salmon and steelhead would be observed, harassed, handled, and marked. The researchers would use temporary/portable picket and resistance board weirs and rotary screw traps to capture the fish and would then sample them for biological information (fin tissue and scale samples). They may also mark some of the fish with opercule punches, fin clips, dyes, and PIT, floy, and/or Tyvek disk tags. Adult steelhead carcasses would also be collected and sampled. The researchers do not intend to kill any of the fish being captured, but a small number may die as an unintended result of the activities. 1341—5R The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes (Tribes) are seeking to renew for five years their permit to take SR sockeye salmon and SR spr/sum Chinook salmon while conducting research designed to estimate their overwinter survival and downstream migration survival and timing. The researchers would also conduct limnological studies on the lakes and monitor sockeye rearing. This research—which has been conducted every year since 1996— would continue to provide information on the relative success of the Pettit and Alturas Lakes (Idaho) sockeye salmon reintroduction programs and thereby benefit the listed fish by improving those programs. Juvenile SR sockeye salmon, spr/sum Chinook salmon, and steelhead would be collected at Pettit and Alturas Lakes, ID, using rotary screw traps and weirs. The fish would be sampled for biological information and released or tagged with passive integrated transponders and released. In addition, to determine trap efficiencies, a portion of the tagged juvenile SR E:\FR\FM\27OCN1.SGM 27OCN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 208 (Thursday, October 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74767-74769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-25999]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE994


New England 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 New England Fishery Management Council (Council, NEFMC) 
will hold a three-day meeting to consider actions affecting New England 
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 
November 15, 16, and 17, 2016, beginning at 9 a.m. on November 15, 8:30 
a.m. on November 16, and 8:30 a.m. on November 17.

[[Page 74768]]


ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Hotel Viking, 1 Bellevue 
Avenue, Newport, RI 02840; telephone: (401) 847-3300; online at 
www.hotelviking.com.
    Council address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 
Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; telephone: (978) 465-0492; 
www.nefmc.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, 
New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492, ext. 
113.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Agenda

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

    After introductions and brief announcements, the meeting will begin 
with reports from the Council Chairman and Executive Director, NMFS's 
Regional Administrator for the Greater Atlantic Regional Office 
(GARFO), liaisons from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, representatives from NOAA General 
Counsel and the Office of Law Enforcement, and staff from the Atlantic 
States Marine Fisheries Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard. Following 
these reports, the Council will hear from its Vessel Monitoring System 
(VMS)/Enforcement Committee, which will: (1) Update the Council on work 
being done to develop a codend certification program; (2) provide a 
brief overview of the Anthropocene Institute's mapping project; and (3) 
provide initial input on measures under consideration in Atlantic 
Herring Framework Adjustment 5 and Atlantic Herring Amendment 8. Next, 
the Skate Committee will present a Skate Monitoring Report with an 
overview on stock status, landings, and revenue for the seven skate 
species being managed by the Council. Afterward, the Council is 
expected to approve a scoping document for Amendment 5 to the Northeast 
Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to consider limited access 
in the fishery. Next, the Council will receive a presentation from the 
NMFS Highly Migratory Species (HMS) staff on Draft Amendment 5b to the 
2006 Consolidated HMS FMP, which is being developed to end overfishing 
and rebuild dusky sharks.
    After a lunch break, the Council will hear from its Monkfish 
Committee and take final action on Framework Adjustment 10 to the 
Monkfish FMP, which will set fishing year 2017-19 specifications and, 
if needed, additional measures. Next, the Council will receive a 
progress report from its Small Mesh Multispecies (Whiting) Committee 
regarding limited access options being developed for Amendment 22. The 
Council will close out the day with a Habitat Committee report, which 
will include an overview of the preliminary impacts analysis for the 
Council's Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral Amendment. The Council also will 
discuss Coral Amendment alternatives that overlap with the new 
Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument and, finally, 
consider a management action to implement fishing regulations in the 
monument area. Following adjournment, NMFS will hold a public hearing 
at 5:30 p.m. in the Council meeting room on Draft Amendment 5b to the 
2006 Consolidated HMS FMP.

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

    The second day of the meeting will begin with a report from the 
Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), which will present Atlantic 
sea scallop overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch 
(ABC) recommendations for the 2017 scallop fishing year and OFL and ABC 
defaults for the 2018 fishing year. The SSC also may discuss issues 
related to improving control rules and ABC recommendations for 
groundfish and other stocks. The Scallop Committee report will directly 
follow the SSC. At this point, the Council will take final action on 
Framework Adjustment 28 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP, which 
includes: (1) Specifications for fishing year 2017 with default 
measures for 2018; (2) a measure to restrict the possession of shell 
stock inshore of the days-at-sea demarcation line north of 42[deg] 20' 
N; (3) modifications to the process for setting scallop fishery annual 
catch limits (ACLs); and (4) modifications to the Closed Area I Scallop 
Access Area boundary to be consistent with potential changes to habitat 
and groundfish mortality closed areas. More specifically, the 2017 
specifications and 2018 default measures include: (a) Setting ABCs, 
ACLs, days-at-sea, and access-area allocations for both limited access 
(LA) and limited access general category (LAGC) vessels; (b) 
determining the hard total allowable catch (TAC) for the Northern Gulf 
of Maine Management Area; (c) setting the target TAC for the LAGC 
incidental catch; and (d) specifying set-aside amounts for the scallop 
observer and research set-aside programs. Next, members of the public 
will be able to speak during an open comment period on issues that 
relate to Council business but are not included on the published agenda 
for this meeting. The Council asks the public to limit remarks to 3-5 
minutes.
    Following a lunch break, the Council will go into its Groundfish 
Committee report and take final action on most of the measures in 
Framework Adjustment 56 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP. These 
include: (1) 2017 U.S./Canada specifications; (2) a scallop fishery 
sub-ACL for northern windowpane flounder; (3) potential changes to the 
scallop fishery accountability measure (AM) triggers for Georges Bank 
yellowtail flounder; (4) a potential increase to the sub-ACL for 
Georges Bank haddock for the Atlantic herring midwater trawl fishery; 
and (5) a timely notification process for announcing recreational 
measures. The Council is expected to take final action on 2017-19 witch 
flounder specifications--the last component of Framework 56 -- at its 
January meeting. In another groundfish-related item for this November 
meeting, the Council also will review a draft scoping notice for a 
Groundfish Monitoring Program Amendment. Closing out the day, the 
Council will receive a NMFS briefing on revisions to National Standard 
Guidelines 1, 3, and 7 to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

    The third day of the meeting will begin with a discussion of 2017 
Council priorities, followed by a final vote on the resulting list. 
Next, the Council will receive a NMFS briefing on the agency's 
comprehensive review of observer safety issues. Then, the Council will 
take up the Atlantic Herring Committee report. The Council may take 
final action on Framework Adjustment 5 to the Atlantic Herring FMP, 
which includes alternatives to modify Georges Bank haddock bycatch AMs 
in the Atlantic herring midwater trawl fishery. The Council also will 
approve the agenda for a second Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) 
workshop, which will be held Dec. 7-8 as part of the MSE process under 
Amendment 8 to develop ABC control rule alternatives for the Atlantic 
herring fishery. Furthermore, the Council will receive an update on the 
development of Amendment 8 measures to address herring localized 
depletion.
    Following a lunch break, the Council will resume the Atlantic 
Herring Committee discussion if needed and then conclude the meeting 
with ``other business.''
    Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come 
before this Council for discussion, those issues may not be the subject 
of formal action during this meeting. Council

[[Page 74769]]

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 that 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 (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 days 
prior to the meeting date.

    Dated: October 24, 2016.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-25999 Filed 10-26-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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