October 13, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2021 Fall Meeting Webinar are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2021-fall-meeting-webinar for the following Boards/Committees (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information). For ease of access, all supplemental meeting materials have been combined into one PDF – http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2021FallMeeting/2021FallMeetingSupplementalCombined.pdf.

Below is the list of documents included in the supplemental materials.

American Lobster Management Board – Memo on Update on Development of Draft Addendum XXVII

Atlantic Herring Management Board – Revised Agenda and Meeting Overview; Postponed Draft Addendum III

Tautog Management Board – Revised Agenda and Meeting Overview; Preliminary Tautog Risk and Uncertainty Report; Law Enforcement Committee Review of Commercial Tagging Program

Shad & River Herring Management Board – Revised Agenda and Meeting Overview; Technical Committee Recommendations on American Shad Habitat Plan Updates; Technical Committee Recommendations for Evaluating Bycatch Removals in Directed Mixed-stock Fisheries in State Waters; Update from U.S. Geological Survey Eastern Ecological Science Center on Alosine Science

Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Revised Agenda and Meeting Overview; Plan Development Team Progress Report on Draft Addendum I to Amendment 3

Executive Committee – Draft Policy on (Guidelines for) Information Requests

Business Session – Draft 2022 Action Plan

Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Advisory Panel Comments on the Scope of Draft Amendment 7 Options; Draft Addendum VII to Amendment 6; Plan Development Team Memo on Quota Transfers; New Hampshire Comments on Quota Transfers

Horseshoe Crab Management Board – Horseshoe Crab Adaptive Resource Management Subcommittee & Delaware Bay Ecosystem Technical Committee Conference Call Summary; Fishery Management Plan Review for the 2020 Fishing Year

Spiny Dogfish Management Board – Revised Agenda and Meeting Overview

American Eel Management Board – Fishery Management Plan Review for the 2020 Fishing Year

ISFMP Policy Board – Harvest Control Rule for Bluefish, Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass(including Comparison of Options, HCR Infographs, and Peer Review Report of Recreational Fishery Models); Executive Committee Memo on Tasks to address Concerns with Conservation Equivalency

Webinar Information
Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning Monday, October 18 at 9 a.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 4:45 p.m.) on Thursday, October 21. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. To register for the webinar go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/180425878123839504 (Webinar ID: 349-122-851).

Each day, the webinar will begin 30 minutes prior to the start of the first meeting so that 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.

If you are joining the webinar but will not be using VoIP, you can also call in at  914.614.3221, access code 580-881-020. A PIN will be provided to you after joining the webinar; see webinar instructions for details on how to receive the PIN.

Public Comment Guidelines
With the intent of developing policies in the Commission’s procedures for public participation that result in 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 opportunity 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 comment 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 comment 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 3 weeks prior to the start of the meeting (September 27) will be included in the briefing materials.
2. Comments received by 5 PM on Tuesday, October 5 will be included in the supplemental materials.
3. Comments received by 10 AM on Friday, October 15 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, fax, and email.