Agenda and Links to Discussion Documents
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
9:00 a.m. Introductions and Announcements (Council Chairman John Pappalardo)
9:05 Reports on Recent Activities
Council Chairman, Executive Director, NMFS Regional Administrator, NOAA General Counsel, Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council liaisons, and representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA Enforcement/VMS, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
Preliminary Catch and Landings Information for NEFMC FMPs
10:30 Review of Press Issues Paper (Patricia Fiorelli, NEFMC staff)
Discussion about NEFMC communications content and approval process
11:15 Review of Experimental Fishery Permit (EFP) Applications (Chris Kellogg, NEFMC staff)
Review and approve any comments on pending experimental fishery permits received since the last meeting
11:30 Briefing on the U.S. Navy's Upcoming Operational and Training Activities (Laura Busch, Naval Environmental Group)
Update on Navy training activities in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico
12:00 p.m. Open Period for Public Comments
12:15 Lunch
1:30 National Standard 10 (NS10) Presentation and Discussion (Deb Lambert, NMFS Policy Analyst)
Summary of agency efforts to reexamine the NS10 Guidelines which state ‘‘Conservation and management measures shall, to the extent practicable, promote the safety of human life at sea;” NMFS seeks both Council and public comments; comments from the Council’s Enforcement Committee also will be discussed under this agenda item
2:30 Enforcement Committee Report (Rodney Avila)
Review of comments developed concerning NOAA’s draft enforcement priority-setting process; if applicable, the Coast Guard may report on comments received as part of its initiative to improve the overall compliance with and effectiveness of the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) regulations; the committee also may forward recommendations addressing some alternatives being considered for inclusion in Framework Adjustment 23 to the Scallop FMP
3:15 Cooperative Research Issues (Ryan Silva, NMFS Regional Office and Phil Haring, Council staff)
*NMFS review of the disposition of catch on scientific research trips, and a review of issues related to the accounting of scientific research catch in estimates of fishing mortality;
*Presentation and discussion of the NMFS Strategic Plan for Cooperative Research for 2011-2014 in response to recommendations included in a recent report which reviewed the New England fishery management process and recommended improving cooperative research and set-aside programs
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Public Session - Tuesday 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Cooperative Research Strategic Planning
Hosted by NMFS Cooperative Research Program Staff - Council Meeting Room
Opportunity for stakeholders and any member of the public who would like to comment, discuss ideas, critique or provide new information that may be considered in possible revisions to the cooperative research strategic plan
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
8:30 a.m. Overview of the Interim Report (May 2010 - January 2011) on the Performance of the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery (Drew Kitts and Dr. Matt Mcpherson, Northeast Fisheries Science Center staff) Council discussion to follow
10:00 Groundfish Committee Report (Rip Cunningham)
*Gear policy discussion; consideration of changes discussed at the April Council meeting about streamlining the approval process for new groundfish gear;
*Approval of final action on Amendment 17 to the Groundfish FMP to authorize state permit banks; discussion will include a review of public comments;
*Update on the development of Framework Adjustment 47 to the Groundfish FMP (specifications for 2012-2014);Report on the recent workshop on accumulation limits in the groundfish fishery
12:30 p.m. Lunch
1:45 EFH Omnibus Amendment 2 Update (Michelle Bachman, Council staff)
Update on amendment development, based on the Council’s April Council meeting decision to expand the scope of the action to include groundfish mortality closed areas
2:30 Sea Scallop Update (David Pierce)
Briefing on alternatives under consideration for Framework Adjustment 23 to the Scallop FMP; these include a requirement for a turtle deflector dredge in the Mid-Atlantic, revision to the yellowtail flounder accountability measures proposed in Amendment 15, modification to the limited access general category management program for the Northern Gulf of Maine area, and potential modifications to the current vessel monitoring system regulations to improve scallop fleet operations
3:30 Monkfish Committee Report (Terry Stockwell) Consideration of the Monkfish Plan Development Team’s (PDT) white paper about separating northern and southern fishery area management via several new configurations; discussion about further development of Amendment 6, an action that may include catch shares
Thursday, June 23, 2011
8:30 a.m. Management Process Review Discussion (John Pappalardo) Council discussion of an April 2011 report commissioned by NMFS that reviewed the fisheries management process in the Northeast, and the relationships among the NEFMC, the NMFS Regional Office and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center
9:45 Scientific and Statistical Committee Report (SSC) Report (Dr. Jake Kritzer, SSC Vice Chair)
Review the SSC’s advice to the Groundfish PDT about a process for setting 2012-2014 Acceptable Biological Catch for all groundfish stocks; presentation of issues and an acceptable biological catch (ABC) recommendation for the skate fishery for fishing years 2012-2013
10:30 Skate Committee Report (David Goethel) Approve measures to include in the 2012-2013 specifications package or identify management alternatives and initiate Framework Adjustment 2 to the Skate FMP
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:30 Other Business