New England Fishery Management Council
50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950
Tel (978) 465-0492 | Fax (978) 465-3116
Council Meeting Agenda | November 16-18, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
8:30 a.m. Introductions and Announcements (Council Chairman John Pappalardo)
8:35 Closed Session (John Pappalardo)
Council member opportunity to comment on the qualifications of nominees to the 2011-2013 Scientific and Statistical Committee
9:00 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, NMFS Enforcement/VMS, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the RSC Chairman
10:45 Review Experimental Fishery Permit (EFP) Applications (Council Deputy Director Chris Kellogg) Discuss Council comments on EFPs as appropriate
10:50 Open Period for Public Comments (John Pappalardo)
Opportunity for the public to provide brief comments on items relevant to Council business but not otherwise listed on the agenda
11:00 Approve 2011-2012 Council Management Priorities (Executive Director Paul J. Howard)
Discuss and finalize management priorities for the upcoming year
12:30 p.m. Lunch Break
1:30 Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) Report (Dr. Steve Cadrin, SMAST)
– Review SSC discussions including the committee’s 2011 calendar, its ABC recommendation for
– Gulf of Maine winter flounder, five-year Council research recommendations and the status of the Council’s ABC control rules; the Council also will receive a comprehensive overview of the SSC’s Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management policy paper
3:30 NMFS Briefing on Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (Sam Rauch, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs)
Update on NOAA activities to implement the National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, our Coasts, and Great Lakes and the Framework for Effective Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP)
4:30 Enforcement Committee Report (Rodney Avila)
Discuss the September 2010 committee recommendations concerning standard fixed-gear marking in the EEZ; further action on any proposals may follow after consultation with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and after a public process is undertaken to solicit further review and comment from stakeholders and interested parties
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
8:30 a.m. Scallop Committee Report (David Pierce)
– Approve final action on Framework Adjustment 22 to the Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP); the Council intends to identify fishery specifications for 2011 and 2012 fishing years and fishery allocations; other measures will comply with reasonable and prudent measures to reduce impacts on sea turtles; alternatives to change VMS requirements, potentially modify the in-shell scallop possession limit for general category vessels seaward of the VMS demarcation line and research priorities for the 2012 Research Set-Aside program also are scheduled for approval
– Review updated projections of the yellowtail flounder bycatch in the scallop fishery for fishing year 2011 and 2012; if adjustments to yellowtail flounder sub-annual catch limit allocations are necessary, they will be considered in Framework 45 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP
12:00 p.m. Lunch Break
1:00 Scallop Agenda Items – continued
4:00 Skate Action (Terry Stockwell)
Consider management actions for the 2010 and 2011 fishing years based on a re-analysis of skate discards provided by the Skate Plan Development Team
**** 7:00 p.m. Electronic Monitoring Outreach Meeting at the Ocean Edge Resort ****
Hosted by NMFS and Chaired by Archipelago Marine Research, Ltd.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
8:30 a.m. Monkfish Committee Report (Terry Stockwell)
Initial meeting to consider Framework Adjustment 7 to the Monkfish FMP (final meeting scheduled for January 2011); the action will include revised biomass reference points, acceptable biological catch values and a Northern Fishery Management Area annual catch target (ACT), as well as the range of alternatives being considered for the Northern Area ACT including associated days-at-sea and trip limits; the committee report will summarize progress to develop Monkfish Amendment 6, which focuses on catch share management programs
9:30 Groundfish Committee Report (Frank Blount)
Approve final action on Framework Adjustment 45 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP; the Council intends to adjust the scallop fishery sub annual catch limits for Georges Bank and Southern New England yellowtail flounder as a result of the Scallop Framework 22 management measures; revise the status determination criteria and acceptable biological catches for pollock and Gulf of Maine winter flounder; and modify the Georges Bank yellowtail flounder rebuilding strategy as well as the ABC; other items include:
– U.S./Canada Area total allowable catches for fishing year 2011;
– Modifications to the dockside and at-sea monitoring provisions of the FMP; as well as
– Elimination of the Great South Channel yellowtail flounder spawning closures for the general category scallop dredge fishery;
– Protection for spawning cod by restricting commercial and recreational fishing in the Whaleback area off the New Hampshire coast; and
– The authorization of additional sectors
12:30 p.m. Lunch Break
1:30 Groundfish Agenda Items – continued
The Council may address further development of an amendment to authorize state permit banks
3:30 Other Business