November 2, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council is launching an independent “program review” and is asking stakeholders who interact with the Council to participate in the undertaking.
“Like every organization, the Council can benefit from periodically reviewing how it does business,” said Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn, Director of Public Interest Law Programs at the University of Massachusetts School of Law. “That’s why we initiated an external review of our operations. We want to know three things: what we’re doing right; what we’re doing wrong; and how we can improve the way we serve the people who are involved in our fisheries and the public overall.”
Stakeholder input is being solicited through two primary avenues: (1) a short online survey; and (2) 14 port meetings from Maine to New Jersey, coupled with a webinar option for anyone who can’t attend an in person meeting or who wants to contribute additional comments. For a list of meeting times and locations click here.
The online survey, which shouldn’t take more than 15-to-20 minutes to complete, is designed to obtain feedback about Council communications and the ability to participate in the Council process. The survey is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NEFMC_Review_Stakeholder_Survey.
Council Chairman Quinn said, “I encourage everyone to take advantage of the two available options. Fill out the online survey and attend a port meeting. We need both forms of stakeholder input.”
Stakeholder input will be confidential. Specific statements, ideas, and perspectives will not be attributed to individuals. Comments and suggestions will be summarized based on themes, fishery, and/or geography as appropriate, and a report will be prepared for the review panel. The final report will be available to the public and posted on the Council’s program review webpage at https://www.nefmc.org/library/council-program-review.
WHO’S IN CHARGE OF THE EXTERNAL REVIEW
The Council Program Review will be conducted by an external panel of managers and scientists from other regions and/or international fisheries entities who have a strong understanding of U.S. federal fisheries management but no recent involvement or affiliation with the New England Council. The review panel will meet for one week in early 2018 to discuss Council operations and carry out the Terms of Reference for the review. The meeting will be open to the public. The Council has enlisted the help of two contractors to support this review process as follows:
Fisheries Leadership & Sustainability Forum – The Fisheries Forum (http://www.fisheriesforum.org) will gather input from all stakeholders through the port meetings, webinar, and online survey and provide a summary to the review panel. Tidal Bay Consulting – Tidal Bay (https://www.tidalbayconsulting.com) will compile background documents for the review panel, provide support for the review meeting itself, and prepare the panel’s final report. Additional materials related to this external review, including a Stakeholder Frequently Asked Questions document and the Terms of Reference for the external review panel, are available at: https://www.nefmc.org/library/council-program-review
The New England Fishery Management Council’s members come from the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The Council manages 29 species under nine Fishery Management Plans and addresses habitat/coral protection across all plans. The Council also is working on ecosystem-based fishery management.
For more information visit their site here.