March 23, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council will hold several advisory panel (AP) and committee meetings via webinar in late-March to discuss issues related to skates, scallops, and ecosystem-based fishery management (EBFM). The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee also will meet by webinar.
Here are three important notes that apply to all of the webinar meetings.
- Anyone who wants to provide oral comments during one of the webinar meetings MUST register for the webinar. The telephone call-in option by itself will not let you speak unless you register first. When you register, you will be given a PIN number that you’ll need to enter when prompted after you dial-in with your phone. Many participates simply use the microphone and speaker options on their computers instead of calling in after registering for the webinar. Please be aware that if you dial-in, your regular phone charges will apply.
- Instructions for how to provide oral comments during webinar meetings can be found in the Council’s “Remote Participation” guide.
- The Council has a deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at its meetings. Individual deadlines are listed below, but the submission address is the same for all meetings. Address comments with an appropriate subject line to Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them to comments@nefmc.org. The address for mailing comments is: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill #2, Newburyport, MA 01950.
Here’s what’s in the queue for the rest of March.
SKATE ADVISORY PANEL AND SKATE COMMITTEE: The Skate AP and Skate Committee will meet jointly via webinar on Thursday, March 26, 2020 beginning at 8:30 a.m.
SKATE WEBINAR REGISTRATION: Register Now for the Skate AP/Committee webinar.
SKATE CALL-IN OPTION: To listen by telephone, dial +1 (562) 247-8321. The access code is 346-538-257.
AGENDA: The Skate AP and Skate Committee will discuss issues related to potential limited access, skate fishing communities, and Council research priorities. Details are available in the meeting notice and agenda.
SKATE COMMENTS: The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24, 2020.
MATERIALS: Meeting materials are posted on the Council’s website at Skate AP/Committee March 26, 2020 webinar documents.
SCALLOP ADVISORY PANEL: The Scallop AP also will meet via webinar on Thursday, March 26, 2020 beginning at 8:30 a.m.
SCALLOP AP WEBINAR REGISTRATION: Register Now for the Scallop Advisory Panel webinar.
SCALLOP AP CALL-IN OPTION: To listen by telephone, dial +1 (415) 930-5321. The access code is 924-004-372.
AGENDA: The Scallop AP will receive an update on Framework Adjustment 32 and work to finalize the range of alternatives in Amendment 21. Details are available in the meeting notice.
SCALLOP AP COMMENTS: The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24, 2020.
MATERIALS: Meeting materials will be posted on the Council’s website at Scallop AP March 26, 2020 webinar documents.
SCALLOP COMMITTEE: The Scallop Committee will meet via webinar on Friday, March 27, 2020 beginning at 8:30 a.m.
SCALLOP COMMITTEE WEBINAR REGISTRATION: Register Now for the Scallop Committee webinar.
SCALLOP COMMITTEE CALL-IN OPTION: To listen by telephone, dial +1 (872) 240-3311. The access code is 502-063-709.
AGENDA: The Scallop Committee will receive an update on Framework Adjustment 32 and work to finalize the range of alternatives in Amendment 21. Details are available in the meeting notice.
SCALLOP COMMITTEE COMMENTS: The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24, 2020.
MATERIALS: Meeting materials will be posted on the Council’s website at Scallop Committee March 27, 2020 webinar documents.
EBFM COMMITTEE AND PLAN DEVELOPMENT TEAM (PDT): The Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management Committee and EBFM PDT will meet jointly via webinar on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 beginning at roughly 11:00 a.m. or as soon as the State of the Ecosystem Report* discussion at the simultaneous Scientific and Statistical Committee meeting is finished.
EBFM COMMITTEE/PDT WEBINAR REGISTRATION: Register Now for the EBFM/PDT webinar.
EBFM COMMITTEE/PDT CALL-IN OPTION: To listen by telephone, dial +1 (415) 655-0052. The access code is 933-669-071.
AGENDA: In addition to the State of the Ecosystem Report*, the EBFM Committee and PDT will discuss issues related to public outreach related to EBFM and the Council’s example Fishery Ecosystem Plan for Georges Bank. Details are available in the meeting notice.
EBFM COMMITTEE/PDT COMMENTS: The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Friday, March 27, 2020.
MATERIALS: Meeting materials will be posted on the Council’s website at EBFM Committee/PDT March 31, 2020 webinar documents.
SCIENTIFIC AND STATISTICAL COMMITTEE (SSC)*: The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee will meet via webinar on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 beginning at 10:00 a.m. The public is invited to listen live.
SSC WEBINAR REGISTRATION: Register Now for the SSC webinar.
SSC CALL-IN OPTION: To listen by telephone, dial +1 (631) 992-3221. The access code is 157-256-431.
AGENDA: The SSC will receive a presentation on the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s State of the Ecosystem 2020 report and provide recommendations on suggested revisions. The SSC also will discuss other business as necessary.
SSC COMMENTS: The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Friday, March 27, 2020.
MATERIALS: Meeting materials are posted on the Council’s website at SSC March 31, 2020 webinar meeting documents.
GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE WEBINAR MEETINGS: Contact Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492 ext. 101, joleary@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.