New England Fishery Management Council Meeting
Holiday Inn by the Bay, 88 Spring Street, Portland, ME
Phone: 207-775-2311; Fax: 207-761-8224
June 17-19, 2014

Printable Version of Agenda

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

9:30 a.m. Introductions and Announcements (Council Chairman Terry Stockwell)

9:35         Reports on Recent Activities

                     Council Chairman, Executive Director, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office Regional Administrator,                      NOAA General Counsel, Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council                      liaisons, and representatives of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, U.S. Coast Guard and                      NOAA Enforcement RSA Presentation.

11:30       Report on the recent meetings of the Northeast Region Coordinating Council and                 the Council Coordination Committee (Terry Stockwell and Tom Nies)

11:45       Open Period for Public Comments (Terry Stockwell)

                    Opportunity for the public to provide brief comments on issues that are relevant to Council business but not                      listed on this agenda (individuals are asked to sign up beforehand and limit remarks to between 3-5 min)

12:15 p.m.        Lunch Break

1:15        Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management (EBFM) Committee Report (Tom Dempsey)

                    Overview of the first meeting of the EBFM Committee

2:15        Highly Migratory Species Reports

• Update on bluefin tuna and swordfish issues addressed at the late 2013 ICCAT meeting (David Preble)
• Update on issues addressed at the April 2014 ICCAT Advisory Panel Meeting (Dr. Michael Sissenwine)

3:15        Risk Policy Working Group Report (Mary Beth Tooley)

                    Update on the development of a risk policy that will serve as guidance to the Council and its Scientific and                     Statistical Committee when those groups address scientific and management uncertainty in setting catch                     limits for Council-managed species

4:00       Magnuson-Stevens Act Reauthorization (Tom Nies)

                    Review the Senate staff discussion draft and H.R. 4742 which has been submitted to the U.S. House of                     Representatives for consideration and possibly develop NEFMC positions

5:30      Council Briefing on NOAA Fisheries Efforts to Develop a National Policy for Recreational Fishing (Russ Dunn, National Policy Advisor for Recreational Fisheries, NOAA)           
        
5:45            Meeting Adjournment

6:30       Listening Session on NOAA Fisheries Plans to Develop a National Policy for               Recreational Fishing (Russ Dunn)

Check www.nefmc.org for information about listening to this presentation via Go To Webinar

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

8:30 a.m.  Electronic Monitoring Onboard Fishing Vessels

• Summary of outcomes resulting from the recent electronic monitoring workshop (Melissa Hooper, GARFO staff)
• Report on activities of the NEFMC’s Electronic Monitoring Working Group (Tom Dempsey)

10:00         Groundfish Committee Report(Frank Blount)

          Northeast Multispecies FMP issues to be addressed:

• Framework Adjustment 52 - Approve final action to revise the commercial groundfish fishery accountability measures for southern and northern windowpane flounder stocks;
• Amendment 18 - Approve the range of alternatives (fleet diversity and accumulation limits) for further analysis in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement; and
• Framework Adjustment 53 - Initiate action concerning specifications for the three U.S./CA stocks for 2015, and set catch limits for Gulf of Maine haddock, two winter flounder stocks, and pollock for 2015‐2017; other measures to be discussed will address the allocation of the windowpane flounder annual catch limits to other components of the fishery, accountability measures for those fisheries, and likely additional related management measures

12:00 p.m. Lunch Break

1:00            Groundfish Committee Report- continued

6:00-7:30  Habitat Listening Session - Brief overview of Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2 alternatives along with an opportunity to ask questions about alternatives or results of impacts analysis (Michelle Bachman, NEFMC staff)

Thursday, June 19, 2014

8:30 a.m. Omnibus Vessel Baseline Amendment* (Melissa Hooper, GARFO staff)

Approve the draft amendment for purposes of taking public comment; the action would simplify the current vessel baseline restrictions; final action is scheduled for the Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 2014 Council meeting in Hyannis, MA.

9:15            Scallop Committee Report (Mary Beth Tooley)

• Initiate Scallop Framework 26 to the Scallop FMP (specifications for fishing years 2015-2016, including default measures that could apply);
• Review and approve a Council policy that outlines the process for the NEFMC scallop research set-aside program;
• Approve research set-aside priorities for fishing years 2015-2016; and
• Review the Limited Access General Category IFQ Fishery Performance Report (for fishing years 2010-2012)

12:30 p.m.        Lunch Break

 

1:30        Scallop Committee Report– to be continued if necessary

 

2:30           Request for Emergency Action for the Atlantic Herring Fishery** (Mary Beth Tooley)

                       Consider a request to modify the fishing year 2014 management measures associated with the haddock                        catch cap for the Atlantic herring midwater trawl fishery

 

3:00   Other Business
         

Times listed next to the agenda items are estimates and are subject to change.
The meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities
Council member financial disclosure forms are available for examination at the meeting.

Submitting Comments? If you plan to submit written comments for consideration at this meeting, they must be received at the NEFMC office by 12 p.m. EST on Thursday, June 12, 2014. If using email, please send them to comments@nefmc.org.