National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration November 2, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a joint public meeting of its Whiting Joint Committee and Advisory Panel via webinar 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.

A series of Economic Data Reporting (EDR) Stakeholder Discussions will be held on November 16, 2020, November 17, 2020, November 23, 2020, and November 24, 2020.

The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that an application submitted by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute to amend an existing Exempted Fishing Permit contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. The amended Exempted Fishing Permit would provide one vessel participating in an electronic monitoring program with an exemption to conduct exploratory fishing using cod ends with smaller mesh than otherwise permitted. The Exempted Fishing Permit would test the effect of different codend mesh combinations on the catch of pollock and Gulf of Maine haddock while on trips targeting Acadian redfish. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed exempted fishing permits.