March 24, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council is CANCELING two groundfish-related meetings: the April 2, 2020 Groundfish Advisory Panel (GAP) webinar meeting and the April 3, 2020 Groundfish Committee webinar meeting.
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING: The Council originally scheduled these meetings to give the GAP and Groundfish Committee an opportunity to review and discuss the Groundfish Catch Share Program Review final report. The working group conducting the review has requested additional time to prepare the final report, and the Council granted this request. Therefore, the GAP and Groundfish Committee meetings are no longer necessary.
WHEN WILL THE CATCH SHARE REVIEW BE DISCUSSED: The Council will discuss the report on April 15, 2020 during its two-day meeting, which now will be held April 14-15, 2020 by webinar.
- Don’t forget to Register for the webinar.
- A draft copy of the Catch Share Program Review report will be posted here shortly.
- The Council is encouraging its groundfish advisors and the public to comment on the report either by: (1) providing oral comments at the appropriate time during the webinar; or (2) submitting written comments in advance of the written comment deadline, which is 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 9, 2020.
WHO WILL REVIEW THE REPORT: Once the report is available, the Groundfish Plan Development Team and a sub-panel of the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee will review the report and provide feedback.
ALSO HAPPENING – AMENDMENT 23 PUBLIC HEARING: The Council will hold its first public hearing on Draft Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23 on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 at 4:00 p.m., shortly after the discussion on the Groundfish Catch Share Program Review is over.
- Here is the public hearing notice.
- All related documents, including the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, are available on the Council’s Amendment 23 webpage.
- A public hearing document will be available soon.
- The Council is in the process of scheduling additional public hearings.
QUESTIONS: Contact Janice Plante, the Council’s public affairs officer, at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.