July 13, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council will be taking final action on Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23 during its September meeting. The amendment is intended to improve catch monitoring and reporting in the commercial groundfish fishery.
The Council has scheduled a series of public hearings in July and August that will be held by webinar. In order to help fishermen and other stakeholders prepare for these hearings, the Council has lined up a number of outreach efforts to make it easier for everyone to participate in the webinar hearings and become more familiar with the Amendment 23 proposed alternatives in advance of the actual hearings.
“We encourage everyone to take advantage of these opportunities,” said Council Executive Director Tom Nies. “Join the practice webinar. Call our groundfish staff during the Amendment 23 office hours. Ask questions. Watch the narrated video of the presentation, which we’ll be posting online soon. We’re doing everything we can to make sure the public is aware of all the alternatives in the document and that everyone feels comfortable giving us their comments.”