May 8, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council has scheduled two more webinar public hearings on its draft groundfish monitoring amendment and extended the public comment deadline to the end of June.
The council, which voted in April to postpone final action on draft Amendment 23 beyond its June meeting, has set the webinar public hearings for May 12 and May 21.
Both are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. and individuals may register through a link on the council’s website.
The council also said it plans to hold additional public hearings beyond those scheduled for May, with details to follow. The date for final action has not been determined.
“We’ve updated the public hearings document and the presentation,” said Janice Plante, council spokeswoman. “The executive committee also will meet at some point and talk about the next step.”
The executive committee is scheduled to meet in early June, but Plante said that wouldn’t preclude it from earlier discussions on the future path for Amendment 23 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.