New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[I.D. 020894B]

New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council), will

hold a 2-day meeting on February 16 and 17, 1994, to consider actions

affecting the New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone.

DATES: The meeting will begin on Wednesday, February 16, 1994, at 10

a.m., and on Thursday, February 17, 1994, at 8:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place at King's Grant Inn, Rt. 128 at

Trask Lane, Danvers, MA 01923, telephone: 508-774-6800.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Douglas G. Marshall, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management

Council, 5 Broadway, Saugus, MA 01906, telephone: 617-231-0422.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council meeting will begin on February

16 with reports from the Council Chairman and Executive Director, the

NMFS Regional Director, NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center

liaison, Mid-Atlantic Council liaison, and representatives from the

Coast Guard, Fish and Wildlife Service and Atlantic States Marine

Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). The Lobster Oversight Committee Chair

will report on the formation of the Effort Management Teams as

described in Amendment 5 to the American Lobster Fishery Management

Plan (FMP).

During the afternoon session, the Sea Scallop Oversight Committee

Chair will report on the framework measure initiation explained later

in this notice.

The Wednesday session will conclude with a report from the Council

Vice Chairman on the recommendations of an ad hoc committee for the

upcoming Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act

reauthorization hearings in Congress.

On Thursday, the meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. with an

Enforcement Oversight Committee report on its recommendations on

scallop management measures and on the winter flounder exception. The

Marine Mammal Oversight Committee will report on time/area closures to

reduce the take of harbor porpoise. This will be followed by a report

from the Groundfish Oversight Committee on framework measure initiation

discussed below.

The Groundfish Committee will conclude its report in the afternoon

session of the second day of the Council meeting. The meeting will

conclude with a discussion of the petition from the National Fisheries

Association to prohibit the use of nets for large pelagic species in

special management areas.

Abbreviated Rulemaking Actions--Atlantic Sea Scallops

The Council will consider framework adjustments to management

measures under the framework for abbreviated rulemaking described in

the final rule for Amendment 4 to the FMP for Atlantic Sea Scallops (59

FR 2757, January 19, 1994). The Council will determine whether

adjustments, or additional management measures are necessary to protect

small scallops in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Council will receive

findings and recommendations from its Plan Development Team for

Atlantic Sea Scallops, which met on February 4, 1994. Additionally, the

Council will determine whether adjustments or additional management

measures are necessary to address possible problems with double-linking

of rings in the dredge bags, the availability of 5\1/2\ inch (13.97 cm)

twine tops and the increase of at-sea freezing of scallops.

The Council's recommendation on adjustments to, or addition of,

management measures must come from one or more of the following

categories:

1. Days at sea changes (total or average);

2. Shell height;

3. Offloading window re-instatement;

4. Effort monitoring;

5. Data reporting;

6. Trip limits;

7. Gear restrictions;

8. Permitting restrictions;

9. Crew limits;

10. Small mesh line;

11. On board observers;

12. Any other management measures currently included in the FMP.

Abbreviated Rulemaking Actions--Northeast Multispecies

Winter Flounder Component of the 500-Pound Possession Limit

The Council will consider an adjustment to the Multispecies

(Groundfish) FMP under the framework for abbreviated rulemaking (50 CFR

651.40) contained in Amendment 5 to the FMP which was approved on

January 3, 1994. The proposed rule for Amendment 5 was published on

October 27, 1993 (58 FR 57774); a final rule is expected to be

effective on March 1, 1994, and published before that date.

At the request of the ASMFC Winter Flounder Board, the Council will

discuss and accept public comment on a proposal to limit the winter

flounder component of the 500-pound (226.8 kg) groundfish possession to

100 pounds (45.3 kg). The final rule discussed above, when implemented,

will allow vessels to keep up to 500 pounds (226.8 kg), combined

weight, of the 10 large-mesh groundfish species while fishing with mesh

smaller than the regulated minimum size.

The ASMFC is concerned that a 500-pound (226.8 kg) limit is an

incentive to target winter flounder with small mesh that may result in

the discarding of unacceptable numbers of winter flounder that are

under the currently legal minimum fish size of 12 inches (30.48 cm).

The ASMFC is urging the Council to take this action to protect a

moderately strong 1992 year class of winter flounder, which will be

susceptible to the small-mesh fishing gear before reaching the minimum

legal size.

Adjustment of Closure of Area I To Gillnetting

The Council will also consider an adjustment to the closure of Area

I to gillnetting in the Multispecies FMP under the framework for

abbreviated rulemaking contained in the proposed rule published on

October 27, 1993. At the request of a number of sink gillnet fishermen,

the Council will discuss and take public comment on a proposal to shift

the time of the closure of Area I to gillnetting. The final rule

implementing Amendment 5 to the Multispecies FMP will open Area I to

all fishing gear types except sink gillnets. Unless modified by a

framework measure, gillnetting will be prohibited from February through

May.

The Council proposed to open Area I to all gears except sink

gillnets because haddock spawning has not been observed in the area in

recent years. At the recommendation of the NMFS Regional Director, the

Council proposed retaining the closure of Area I to gillnetting because

of the potential interaction with endangered whales, which are known to

feed in the area during the spring. The February through May closure

period was originally set to protect aggregations of spawning haddock

and does not coincide with the observed presence of the whales, which

the gillnetting closure is intended to protect. The Council proposes to

begin the closure of Area I in the middle of March and extend it to the

middle of July.

Time/Area Closures To Reduce the Take of Harbor Porpoise in the Gulf of

Maine Sink Gillnet Fishery

At the request of the NMFS and the Council's Marine Mammal and

Endangered Species Committee, the Council has developed proposals to

reduce the take of harbor porpoise in the Gulf of Maine sink gillnet

fishery by the end of year 4 of implementation of the Northeast

Multispecies FMP to a level not to exceed 2 percent of the porpoise

population, based on the best available estimates of abundance and

catch.

Under the framework for abbreviated rulemaking (50 CFR 651.40, to

be published in March 1994) the Council has requested its Harbor

Porpoise Review Team (HPRT) to evaluate ``reduction of take measures''

for the harbor porpoise bycatch in the Gulf of Maine sink gillnet

fishery. Those measures, which include closures in the Gulf of Maine by

area and time, any recommendations made by the HPRT, and public

comments, will be discussed at the February 16 and 17 Council meeting

in order to initiate the framework process.

At the February 16-17 Council meeting, the Council will determine

whether the requested adjustment to the regulations for sea scallops

and groundfish are necessary and will initiate a public comment period.

The Council staff will analyze the proposals and announce the

availability of analysis documents prior to the second Council meeting

(April 6-7, 1994). The public will have the opportunity to comment on

the proposal(s) prior to and at the April Council meeting. After

developing management actions and receiving public testimony, the

Council will make a recommendation to the Regional Director. The

Regional Director may publish the action as a final rule or as a

proposed rule, as described in Sec. 651.40.

Dated: February 8, 1994.

Richard H. Schaefer,

Director of Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 94-3308 Filed 2-11-94; 8:45 am]

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