February 2022 Council Meeting - Calendar

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Sending comments? Written comments must be received at the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) office no later than 8:00 a.m., Thursday, January 27, 2022 to be considered at this meeting. Please address comments to Council Chair Eric Reid or Executive Director Tom Nies at: NEFMC, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950. Email submissions should be sent to comments@nefmc.org.

IMPORTANT: Due to ongoing public safety considerations related to COVID-19, this meeting will be conducted by webinar.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: The Council’s “Guidelines for Providing Public Comments” can be found here. Anyone interested in speaking during the open period for public comment on February 2, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. should email Janice Plante at jplante@nefmc.org to get on the list.

EMERGENCY ACTION: Please note that the Council will discuss a request for secretarial emergency action related to the Great South Channel Habitat Management Area under the Habitat Committee report.

Don’t forget! If you want to speak during opportunities for public comment, you need to: (1) register for the webinar; and (2) actually “join” the webinar. People who call in by telephone without joining the webinar will be in listen-only mode. Those who take both steps – register and then join the webinar – will see the meeting screen and be able to click on a “raise hand” button, which will let the meeting organizer know you want to be unmuted to speak.
Here is the Council’s “Remote Participation Guide” with instructions for how to provide oral comments during the webinar meeting.
Having trouble with the webinar? We have a Help Desk! Our staff is only a phone call or email away. Click HERE for assistance.

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

10:00 a.m. Reports on Recent Activities - Council Chair, Council Executive Director, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) Regional Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) General Counsel, Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC), Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA Enforcement, Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel (NTAP)

12:00 p.m. Skate Committee Report (Scott Olszewski)

12:30 Lunch Break

1:45 Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) Report (John Pappalardo)

2:15 Habitat Committee Report (Council Chair Eric Reid)

4:30 Closed Session (Council Chair Eric Reid)

Wednesday, February 2, 2022

9:00 a.m. Scallop Committee Report (Melanie Griffin)

10:30 Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch Working Group (Spencer Talmage, GARFO)

11:15 International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) (Rick Bellavance; Sarah McLaughlin, NOAA Fisheries)

12:00 p.m. Open Period for Public Comment - Opportunity for the public to provide brief comments on issues relevant to Council business but not listed on this agenda (please limit remarks to 3-5 minutes)

12:15 Lunch Break

1:30 Congressional Update (Dave Whaley)

2:30 Atlantic Mackerel (Jason Didden, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council staff)

3:15 East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning (Staff)

Thursday, February 3, 2022

9:00 a.m. Groundfish Committee Report (Rick Bellavance; Dr. Russ Brown, NEFSC; Dr. Erik Chapman, UNH; Dr. Lisa Kerr, GMRI)

12:30 p.m. Lunch Break

1:30 Groundfish Committee Report Continued

3:30 Other Business
(1) Approve Council comment letter on the American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas, which is part of the America the Beautiful initiative under Executive Order 14008; (2) approve Council comment letter on the five-year review of the nomination for Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary; and (3) address other business as needed

This meeting will be recorded. Consistent with 16 USC 1852, a copy of the recording is available upon request.