October 2, 2024 — The following was released by New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet to discuss issues related to Atlantic sea scallops, witch flounder, and more. The public is invited to listen live. Here are the details.
WHEN: Wednesday, October 9, 2024
WHERE: Hilton Providence, Rhode Island. This is an in-person meeting, coupled with a webinar option. Please do not attend this meeting in person if you do not feel well.
START TIME: 9:00 a.m.
WEBINAR REGISTRATION: Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live. There is no charge to join the meeting through this webinar.
- IMPORTANT: The Council is now using Zoom to broadcast meetings. Zoom requires users to be on the latest version of the application. You must update your Zoom app to the latest version at least five minutes before joining the webinar to avoid glitches and be able to view presentations.
AGENDA: The SSC will meet to:
- Review information provided by the Council’s Scallop Plan Development Team (PDT) and recommend the overfishing limits (OFLs) and acceptable biological catches (ABCs) for Atlantic sea scallops for fishing years 2025-2026;
- Review witch flounder information provided by the Council’s Groundfish PDT, as well as stock assessment information, and recommend OFLs and ABCs for witch flounder for fishing years 2025-2027;
- Review draft outcomes of the 8th National Workshop of the Council Coordination Committee’s Scientific Coordination Subcommittee (SCS8) held in August 2024 and discuss potential next steps;
- Review outcomes of the May 2024 workshop on Implementing Social Science Methods for Fisheries Decision-Making, discuss a proposal for establishing a formal committee on social science, and discuss potential next steps for the SSC; and
- Discuss other business as necessary.
COMMENTS: The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is8:00 a.m. on Monday, October 7, 2024. Address comments to Council Chair Rick Bellavance or Executive Director Cate O’Keefe and email them to comments@nefmc.org.
MATERIALS: All documents for this meeting will be posted on the SSC October 9, 2024 meeting webpage.
QUESTIONS: Contact Dr. Rachel Feeney at (978) 465-0492, ext. 110, rfeeney@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.