New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting, 37517-37518 [2023-12276]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 110 / Thursday, June 8, 2023 / Notices At the June 28 meeting, the Working Group will review the draft Blueprint and the Council’s web-based habitat and ecosystem mapping tools. At the August 16 meeting the Working Group will review the draft Habitat Blueprint and develop recommendations for consideration by the Council’s Habitat Committee. 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 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 Fishery Conservation and Management Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council’s intent to take final action to address the emergency. Thursday, June 29, 2023, beginning at 9 a.m. each day. ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn, 5 Park Street, Freeport, ME 04032; telephone: (207) 865–1433; online at https:// www.hilton.com/en/hotels/pwmfdgihilton-garden-inn-freeport-downtown/. Join the webinar at https:// attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/ 2165734872346457438. Council address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; telephone (978) 465–0492; www.nefmc.org. Special Accommodations These meetings are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for auxiliary aids should be directed to the Council office (see ADDRESSES) 5 days prior to the meeting. Agenda Note: The times and sequence specified in this agenda are subject to change. Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Dated: June 5, 2023. Rey Israel Marquez, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2023–12275 Filed 6–7–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [RTID 0648–XD077] New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice of a public meeting. AGENCY: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council, NEFMC) will hold a 3-day in-person meeting with an option for remote participation to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Council continues to follow all public safety measures related to COVID–19 and intends to do so for this meeting. DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 27, 2023 through ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:15 Jun 07, 2023 Jkt 259001 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465–0492, ext. 113. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Tuesday, June 27, 2023 The Council will begin this meeting with brief announcements, followed by reports on recent activities from the Council’s Chair and Executive Director, the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) Regional Administrator, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) Director, the NOAA Office of General Counsel, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council liaison, staff from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), and representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement. Next, the Council will receive a presentation on the final report of the Council Coordination Committee’s Subcommittee on AreaBased Management. The Skate Committee report will follow with two items: (1) a progress report on the development of 2024–2025 skate specifications and potential initiation of a framework adjustment to include measures to expand possession of smooth and barndoor skates; and (2) a presentation on and Council discussion of a final white paper containing potential approaches to support thorny skate rebuilding. Then, members of the public will have the opportunity 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. These comments will be received both in person and through the webinar. A guide for how to publicly comment through the webinar is available on the Council website at https://s3.amazonaws.com/nefmc.org/ PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 37517 NEFMC-meeting-remote-participation_ generic.pdf. After the lunch break, the Council will take up the Atlantic Herring Committee report and approve a problem statement for action to revisit the inshore midwater trawl exclusion zone contained in Herring Amendment 8. The Council also will consider a potential change in priorities to identify time/area closure options to reduce bycatch of river herring and shad in midwater trawl and small-mesh bottom trawl fisheries. Next on the agenda is a presentation on a NOAA Fisheries comment opportunity under an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) for updating National Standard Guidelines 4, 8, and 9. The Council will receive input on the draft guidelines from its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and staff before formulating its own comments. The Council then will receive a brief overview of NOAA’s Technical Guidance for National Standard 1 Reference Points and Status Determinations. The Council will discuss which process it prefers to use to develop comments on the technical guidance. The Council then will adjourn for the day. Wednesday, June 28, 2023 The Council will begin the second day of its meeting with a presentation on the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office and Northeast Fisheries Science Center draft strategic plan. The Groundfish Committee report will come next. The Council will initiate Framework Adjustment 66, which may include: (1) 2024–26 specifications for redfish, northern windowpane flounder, and southern windowpane flounder, (2) 2024–25 specifications for white hake and U.S./Canada resources of Eastern Georges Bank cod, Eastern Georges Bank haddock, and Georges Bank yellowtail flounder, (3) a revised white hake rebuilding plan, and (4) Atlantic halibut management measures. The Council also will consider a potential change in priorities to revise Gulf of Maine haddock specifications for 2024 and 2025 in Framework 66. The Council will initiate a separate framework adjustment to revise acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rules for groundfish and receive Scientific and Statistical Committee feedback on control rule options. Finally, the Council will receive an update on its Atlantic Cod Management Transition Plan. Next up will be the Monkfish Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program Working Group, which will provide a progress report on a Council work E:\FR\FM\08JNN1.SGM 08JNN1 37518 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 110 / Thursday, June 8, 2023 / Notices ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 priority to review and improve the Monkfish RSA program. After the lunch break, the Council will receive an update on a joint New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council action to reduce Atlantic sturgeon bycatch in large-mesh monkfish and dogfish gillnet fisheries. As part of this discussion, the Council will approve the range of alternatives for Monkfish Framework Adjustment 15, which will contain the proposed sturgeon measures. Next, the Council will receive a presentation from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) on its competitive grant funding programs, including the Electronic Monitoring and Reporting Program and the New England Gear Innovation Fund, which is a new program that seeks to address issues related to right whale fishing gear entanglements. The Council will close out the day with a discussion on the East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning initiative. The Council will: (1) review findings from the February 2023 East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning Summit; (2) receive Northeast Region Coordinating Council (NRCC) feedback on the summit findings; and (3) discuss the findings and next steps. Thursday, June 29, 2023 The Council will begin the third day of its meeting by hearing from the Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) Committee. The Council will receive: (1) the final report on the prototype management strategy evaluation (pMSE) for EBFM and the Georges Bank example Fishery Ecosystem Plan (eFEP); and (2) suggestions from a subpanel of the SSC intended to help improve the results of the pMSE’s model scenarios. The Council also will receive an update on planning for upcoming deep-dive public information workshops on EBFM. The Scallop Committee then will present three items related to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program for Council consideration: (1) approval of longer-term RSA survey awards; (2) adoption of survey guiding principles; and (3) approval of 2024– 2025 RSA priorities. The Council also will initiate action for fishing year 2024 specifications, 2025 defaults, and other measures. Another important scalloprelated item will be covered under the next agenda item, the Habitat Committee report. After the lunch break, the first item under the Habitat Committee report will focus on the Northern Edge of Georges Bank. The discussion will include an update and proposed timeline for action to potentially authorize scallop fishery VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:15 Jun 07, 2023 Jkt 259001 access to the habitat management area at the top of Closed Area II on Georges Bank. The habitat report also will include a work plan update on the Essential Fish Habitat Review, followed by a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) update on the Gulf of Maine offshore wind call area and other wind developments. The Risk Policy Working Group will report next with an update on its efforts to address the terms of reference for revising the Council’s Risk Policy. The Council then will receive a series of reports related to Atlantic Highly Migratory Species, which will cover: (1) the NOAA Fisheries HMS Management Division’s presentation on (a) the proposed rule for Amendment 15 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS Fishery Management Plan; (b) the advance notice of proposed rulemaking on electronic reporting; and (c) scoping for Amendment 16 shark issues; (2) the HMS Advisory Panel report on the May 2023 meeting; and (3) the Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section to the International Commission on the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) report on its April meeting. Finally, the Council will close out the meeting with other business. Although non-emergency issues not contained on this agenda may come before the Council for discussion, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this meeting. Council 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 Fishery Conservation and Management Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council’s intent to take final action to address the emergency. The public also should be aware that the meeting will be recorded. Consistent with 16 U.S.C. 1852, a copy of the recording is available upon request. 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. Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Dated: June 5, 2023. Rey Israel Marquez, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2023–12276 Filed 6–7–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY [CEQ–2023–0004] Ocean Justice Strategy Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). ACTION: Request for information. AGENCY: The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), on behalf of the Ocean Policy Committee (OPC), request input from all interested parties to inform the development of an Ocean Justice Strategy. The Ocean Justice Strategy will describe the vision, goals, and highlevel objectives for coordinating and guiding ocean justice activities across the Federal Government. It may also serve as a reference for Tribal, Territorial, State, and local governments, regional management bodies, and non-governmental groups. The Ocean Justice Strategy will propose equitable and just practices to advance safety, health, and prosperity for communities residing near the ocean, the coasts, and the Great Lakes and for the whole country, now and for future generations. It builds on current BidenHarris Administration activities and commitments aimed to advance environmental justice. Through this Request for Information (RFI), the Ocean Policy Committee seeks public input on what the vision and goals of the Ocean Justice Strategy should be and how the Federal Government can advance just and equitable access to, and management and use of, the ocean, the coasts, and the Great Lakes. DATES: Responses are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 24, 2023. Submissions received after the deadline will not be taken into consideration. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number CEQ– 2023–0004, using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Instructions: Responding to this RFI is voluntary. You may respond to some or all of the questions in this RFI. We request that you submit only one response, and that your submission not exceed 2,500 words. For any submissions that are over 2,500 words, please consider including an executive summary of 2,500 words or fewer. Your submission should clearly indicate which question(s) you are addressing. Your response should include the name of the person(s) or organization(s) submitting it. If your response refers to SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\08JNN1.SGM 08JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 110 (Thursday, June 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37517-37518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12276]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XD077]


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, NEFMC) 
will hold a 3-day in-person meeting with an option for remote 
participation to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in 
the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Council continues to follow all 
public safety measures related to COVID-19 and intends to do so for 
this meeting.

DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 27, 2023 through 
Thursday, June 29, 2023, beginning at 9 a.m. each day.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn, 5 Park 
Street, Freeport, ME 04032; telephone: (207) 865-1433; online at 
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/pwmfdgi-hilton-garden-inn-freeport-downtown/. Join the webinar at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2165734872346457438.
    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, June 27, 2023

    The Council will begin this meeting with brief announcements, 
followed by reports on recent activities from the Council's Chair and 
Executive Director, the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office 
(GARFO) Regional Administrator, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center 
(NEFSC) Director, the NOAA Office of General Counsel, the Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council liaison, staff from the Atlantic States 
Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), and representatives from the U.S. 
Coast Guard and NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement. Next, the Council 
will receive a presentation on the final report of the Council 
Coordination Committee's Subcommittee on Area-Based Management. The 
Skate Committee report will follow with two items: (1) a progress 
report on the development of 2024-2025 skate specifications and 
potential initiation of a framework adjustment to include measures to 
expand possession of smooth and barndoor skates; and (2) a presentation 
on and Council discussion of a final white paper containing potential 
approaches to support thorny skate rebuilding. Then, members of the 
public will have the opportunity 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. These comments will be received both in person 
and through the webinar. A guide for how to publicly comment through 
the webinar is available on the Council website at https://s3.amazonaws.com/nefmc.org/NEFMC-meeting-remote-participation_generic.pdf.
    After the lunch break, the Council will take up the Atlantic 
Herring Committee report and approve a problem statement for action to 
revisit the inshore midwater trawl exclusion zone contained in Herring 
Amendment 8. The Council also will consider a potential change in 
priorities to identify time/area closure options to reduce bycatch of 
river herring and shad in midwater trawl and small-mesh bottom trawl 
fisheries. Next on the agenda is a presentation on a NOAA Fisheries 
comment opportunity under an advance notice of proposed rulemaking 
(ANPR) for updating National Standard Guidelines 4, 8, and 9. The 
Council will receive input on the draft guidelines from its Scientific 
and Statistical Committee (SSC) and staff before formulating its own 
comments. The Council then will receive a brief overview of NOAA's 
Technical Guidance for National Standard 1 Reference Points and Status 
Determinations. The Council will discuss which process it prefers to 
use to develop comments on the technical guidance. The Council then 
will adjourn for the day.

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

    The Council will begin the second day of its meeting with a 
presentation on the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office and 
Northeast Fisheries Science Center draft strategic plan. The Groundfish 
Committee report will come next. The Council will initiate Framework 
Adjustment 66, which may include: (1) 2024-26 specifications for 
redfish, northern windowpane flounder, and southern windowpane 
flounder, (2) 2024-25 specifications for white hake and U.S./Canada 
resources of Eastern Georges Bank cod, Eastern Georges Bank haddock, 
and Georges Bank yellowtail flounder, (3) a revised white hake 
rebuilding plan, and (4) Atlantic halibut management measures. The 
Council also will consider a potential change in priorities to revise 
Gulf of Maine haddock specifications for 2024 and 2025 in Framework 66. 
The Council will initiate a separate framework adjustment to revise 
acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rules for groundfish and 
receive Scientific and Statistical Committee feedback on control rule 
options. Finally, the Council will receive an update on its Atlantic 
Cod Management Transition Plan. Next up will be the Monkfish Research 
Set-Aside (RSA) Program Working Group, which will provide a progress 
report on a Council work

[[Page 37518]]

priority to review and improve the Monkfish RSA program.
    After the lunch break, the Council will receive an update on a 
joint New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council action to 
reduce Atlantic sturgeon bycatch in large-mesh monkfish and dogfish 
gillnet fisheries. As part of this discussion, the Council will approve 
the range of alternatives for Monkfish Framework Adjustment 15, which 
will contain the proposed sturgeon measures. Next, the Council will 
receive a presentation from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation 
(NFWF) on its competitive grant funding programs, including the 
Electronic Monitoring and Reporting Program and the New England Gear 
Innovation Fund, which is a new program that seeks to address issues 
related to right whale fishing gear entanglements. The Council will 
close out the day with a discussion on the East Coast Climate Change 
Scenario Planning initiative. The Council will: (1) review findings 
from the February 2023 East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning 
Summit; (2) receive Northeast Region Coordinating Council (NRCC) 
feedback on the summit findings; and (3) discuss the findings and next 
steps.

Thursday, June 29, 2023

    The Council will begin the third day of its meeting by hearing from 
the Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) Committee. The Council 
will receive: (1) the final report on the prototype management strategy 
evaluation (pMSE) for EBFM and the Georges Bank example Fishery 
Ecosystem Plan (eFEP); and (2) suggestions from a subpanel of the SSC 
intended to help improve the results of the pMSE's model scenarios. The 
Council also will receive an update on planning for upcoming deep-dive 
public information workshops on EBFM. The Scallop Committee then will 
present three items related to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Set-
Aside (RSA) Program for Council consideration: (1) approval of longer-
term RSA survey awards; (2) adoption of survey guiding principles; and 
(3) approval of 2024-2025 RSA priorities. The Council also will 
initiate action for fishing year 2024 specifications, 2025 defaults, 
and other measures. Another important scallop-related item will be 
covered under the next agenda item, the Habitat Committee report.
    After the lunch break, the first item under the Habitat Committee 
report will focus on the Northern Edge of Georges Bank. The discussion 
will include an update and proposed timeline for action to potentially 
authorize scallop fishery access to the habitat management area at the 
top of Closed Area II on Georges Bank. The habitat report also will 
include a work plan update on the Essential Fish Habitat Review, 
followed by a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) update on the 
Gulf of Maine offshore wind call area and other wind developments. The 
Risk Policy Working Group will report next with an update on its 
efforts to address the terms of reference for revising the Council's 
Risk Policy. The Council then will receive a series of reports related 
to Atlantic Highly Migratory Species, which will cover: (1) the NOAA 
Fisheries HMS Management Division's presentation on (a) the proposed 
rule for Amendment 15 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS Fishery Management 
Plan; (b) the advance notice of proposed rulemaking on electronic 
reporting; and (c) scoping for Amendment 16 shark issues; (2) the HMS 
Advisory Panel report on the May 2023 meeting; and (3) the Advisory 
Committee to the U.S. Section to the International Commission on the 
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) report on its April meeting. 
Finally, the Council will close out the meeting with other business.
    Although non-emergency issues not contained on this agenda may come 
before the Council for discussion, those issues may not be the subject 
of formal action during this meeting. Council 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 Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council's 
intent to take final action to address the emergency. The public also 
should be aware that the meeting will be recorded. Consistent with 16 
U.S.C. 1852, a copy of the recording is available upon request.

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

    Dated: June 5, 2023.
Rey Israel Marquez,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-12276 Filed 6-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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