January 27, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
Supplemental materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2021 Winter Meeting Webinar are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/
Below is the list of documents included in the supplemental materials. Please note that minor changes have been made to the time and schedule for meetings on Monday, February 1 and Tuesday, February 2.
Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board – Revised Agenda and Meeting Overview; Technical Committee Memo on 2021 Summer Flounder and Black Sea Bass Recreational Fishery Proposals
ISFMP Policy Board – Revised Agenda and Meeting Overview; 2020 Commissioner Survey Results; Draft Letter from ASMFC to USACE Wilmington District for Policy Board; Public Comment
American Lobster Management Board – Revised Agenda and Meeting Overview; Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument
Winter Flounder Management Board – Revised Agenda and Meeting Overview; Technical Committee Meeting Summary; Advisory Panel Meeting Summary
Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Revised Agenda and Meeting Overview; Revised Memo on Recent Fishery Performance Relative to Commercial Allocations; Public Comment
Atlantic Herring Management Board – Revised Agenda and Meeting Overview; Public Comment
Executive Committee – Revised Agenda
ACCSP Coordinating Council – Draft Proceedings from October 2020; Program and Project Funding Summary; FY2021 Proposal Rankings; FY21 Administrative Budget; FY21 Calendar
Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – ME/MA Proposal to Study the Tube Rig Fishery and Consider Its Exemption from the Circle Hook Provision; Revised MA Implementation Plan for Striped Bass Addendum VI Circle Hook Requirement; Revised ME Striped Bass Implementation Plan for Addendum VI Circle Hook Provisions; Public Comment
Shad and River Herring Management Board – Advisory Panel Report and Technical Committee Recommendations to Improve Shad Stocks
Bluefish Management Board – Recommended Revisions to the Addendum I Biological Monitoring Program
Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning Monday, February 1 at 9:30 a.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 4:30 p.m.) on Thursday, February 4. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. To register for the webinar go to https://attendee.
Each day, the webinar will begin 30 minutes prior to the start of the first meeting so that people can troubleshoot any connectivity or audio issues they may encounter. If you are having issues with the webinar (connecting to or audio related issues), please contact Chris Jacobs at 703.842.0790.
If you are joining the webinar but will not be using VoIP, you can may also call in at 415.930.5321 (a pin will be provided to you after joining the webinar); see webinar instructions for details on how to receive the pin. For those who will not be joining the webinar but would like to listen in to the audio portion only, you can do so by dialing 415.930.5321 (access code: 864-933-588).
Public Comment Guidelines
To provide a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings. Please note these guidelines have been modified to adapt to meetings via webinar:
For issues that are not on the agenda, management boards will continue to provide an opportunity to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of each board meeting. Board chairs will ask members of the public to raise their hands to let the chair know they would like to speak. Depending upon the number of commenters, the board chair will decide how to allocate the available time on the agenda (typically 10 minutes) to the number of people who want to speak.
For topics that are on the agenda, but have not gone out for public comment, board chairs will provide limited opportunity for comment, taking into account the time allotted on the agenda for the topic. Chairs will have flexibility in deciding how to allocate comment opportunities; this could include hearing one comment in favor and one in opposition until the chair is satisfied further comment will not provide additional insight to the board.
For agenda action items that have already gone out for public comment, it is the Policy Board’s intent to end the occasional practice of allowing extensive and lengthy public comments. Currently, board chairs have the discretion to decide what public comment to allow in these circumstances.
In addition, the following timeline has been established for the submission of written comment for issues for which the Commission has NOT established a specific public comment period(i.e., in response to proposed management action).
1. Comments received 3 weeks prior to the start of the webinar (January 11) will be included in the briefing materials.
2. Comments received by 5:00 PM on Tuesday, January 26 will be included in the supplemental materials.
3. Comments received by 10:00 AM on Friday, January 29 will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting.
Comments should be submitted via email at comments@asmfc.org. All comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution.