August 7, 2012 — The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) will hold a meeting Tuesday, August 14, 2012 at 5:00 pm at the Courtyard Philadelphia Downtown located at 21 N. Juniper St., Philadelphia, PA 19107. The meeting can also be viewed over this internet at http://www.mafmc.org/. More details on the meeting below:
Part 1: MAFMC Strategic Planning- Purpose, Process, and Expected Outcomes
On Monday, August 13, the Council’s Visioning and Strategic Planning Working Group will convene for the first in a series of meetings to develop a 10-year strategic plan. Since the public has asked a number of questions and expressed an interest in the strategic planning process, Council staff will present a strategic planning overview during the August 14 listening session and will answer some of the most frequently asked questions such as:
Why does the Council need a strategic plan when the legal mandates of the Magnuson-Stevens Act provide very specific guidelines for fisheries management?
What kinds of changes could occur as a result of the strategic plan?
What role will the Stakeholder Input Report play in the planning process, and how will the concerns and interests of stakeholders be taken in to consideration?
Attend the listening session and get the answers to these questions and more!
Part 2: Meet John Bullard, the New NMFS Regional Administrator
John K. Bullard, former mayor of New Bedford, began work August 6 as the new Regional Administrator of NOAA’s Northeast Regional Office. John will spend much of his time over the next several months meeting with stakeholders and asking two key questions:
What are your one or two most important issues?
What would success look like related to fisheries in the Northeast Region?
During this informal listening session, Mr. Bullard will be available to hear your answers to these questions and answer any questions that you may have for him.
You can attend in person in Philadelphia or via the internet. For online webinar access register at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/836113225 or just click this link at the time of the meeting.
Please contact Jason Didden at jdidden@mafmc.org or (302) 526-5254 if you have any questions regarding the listening session process or if you would like to confirm that your computer is set up to access the webinar. The webinar works for most computers, but sometimes there are technical problems with remote voice communication from online participants. In such cases, participants may still use a chat feature in the webinar to submit their comments or questions.