January 22, 2024 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Winter Meeting will be February 4 – 5, 2025 at The Westin Crystal City. This will be a hybrid meeting (both in-person and remote) to allow for participation by Commissioners and interested stakeholders. The room block is now closed; if you need assistance reserving a room, please contact Lisa Carty at lcarty@asmfc.org.
The final agenda and meeting materials for the Winter Meeting are now available athttps://www.asmfc.org/home/
https://asmfc.org/files/
https://asmfc.org/files/
Please note the Atlantic Menhaden Work Group on Precautionary Management in Chesapeake Bay meeting scheduled for February 5 (1 – 5 p.m.) is a separate meeting from the Commission’s Winter Meeting, and will not be live-streamed through the Winter Meeting webinar link. Information on the meeting can be found at https://asmfc.org/calendar/
Additionally, a meeting of the Sciaenids Management Board has been added to the agenda on February 4 from 2:15 – 2:45 p.m. Some meetings on February 4 have shifted slightly.
Be advised the agenda’s schedule is subject to change; the order in which the agenda items are listed is subject to change, and other agenda items or meetings may be added as necessary.
Webinar Information
Meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning Tuesday, February 4, at 9 AM and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be Noon on Wednesday, February 5). To register for the webinar, please go to: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1665035982583617623. (Webinar ID 606-647-923).
If you are joining the webinar but will not be using VoIP, you can may also call in at +1.562.247.8422, access code 709-788-873. A PIN will be provided to you after joining the webinar.
For those who will not be joining the webinar but would like to listen in to the audio portion only, press the # key when asked for a PIN.
Each day, the webinar will begin 15 minutes prior to the start of the first meeting so people can troubleshoot any connectivity or audio issues they may encounter. If you are having issues with the webinar (connecting to or audio related issues), please contact Chris Jacobs at 703.842.0790.
Meeting Process
Board chairs will ask both in-person and virtual board members if they wish to speak. In-person members can simply raise their hands at the meeting without logging on to the webinar, while virtual members will raise their hands on the webinar. The chair will work with staff to compile the list of speakers, balancing the flow of questions/comments between in-person and virtual attendees. The same process will be used for public comment. Depending upon the number of commenters, the board chair will decide how to allocate the available time on the agenda (typically 10 minutes) to the number of people who want to speak.
Public Comment Guidelines
To provide a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board has approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings:
For issues that are not on the agenda, management boards will continue to provide opportunities to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of each board meeting. Board chairs will ask members of the public to raise their hands to let the chair know they would like to speak. Depending upon the number of commenters, the board chair will decide how to allocate the available time on the agenda (typically 10 minutes) to the number of people who want to speak.
For topics that are on the agenda, but have not gone out for public comment, board chairs will provide limited opportunity for comment, taking into account the time allotted on the agenda for the topic. Chairs will have flexibility in deciding how to allocate comment opportunities; this could include hearing one comment in favor and one in opposition until the chair is satisfied further comments will not provide additional insight to the board.
For agenda action items that have already gone out for public comment, it is the Policy Board’s intent to end the occasional practice of allowing extensive and lengthy public comments. Currently, board chairs have the discretion to decide what public comment to allow in these circumstances.
In addition, the following timeline has been established for the submission of written comments for issues for which the Commission has NOT established a specific public comment period (i.e., in response to proposed management action).
1. Comments received three weeks prior to the start of a meeting week (January 13) will be included in the briefing materials.
2. Comments received by 5 PM on Tuesday, January 28, will be included in supplemental materials.
3. Comments received by 10 AM on Friday, January 31, will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting.
The submitted comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution. As with other public comment, it will be accepted via mail and email.
We look forward to seeing you at the Winter Meeting.