Committee and Advisors to Meet on Controlled Access System for Mackerel

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Squid, Mackerel, and Butterfish Committee, together with its advisors, will meet at the Grand Hotel of Victorian Cape May (1045 Beach Drive, Cape May, NJ 08204) on February 18, 2005. The meeting is open to the public and will begin at 9:00 a.m. and continue to approximately 5:00 p.m.

This will be the initial meeting of the Committee to address the design and development of a limited access management system for the Atlantic mackerel fishery. The purpose of the meeting will be to allow the Committee and its advisors to discuss and identify controlled access management alternatives for the Atlantic mackerel fishery that may be included in Amendment 9. Specific management alternatives recommended by the Committee will be included in a supplemental scoping document that will become available to the public through the initiation of a supplemental scoping period. The timeframe for that scoping period will be specified in a future Federal Register notice. During the scoping period, any comments from the public regarding controlled access management alternatives will be accepted. After scoping is completed, the Council will specify the complete range of controlled access management alternatives that will be included in the draft public hearing document for Amendment 9.

The Committee will also review and discuss the status and schedule of the existing Amendment 9 document. This review is intended to synchronize any possible changes arising from the inclusion of a controlled access management system for Atlantic mackerel into that document so that such changes are included in the draft public hearing document that will be developed later this year.

Committee and Advisors to Meet on Controlled Access System for Mackerel

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Squid, Mackerel, and Butterfish Committee, together with its advisors, will meet at the Grand Hotel of Victorian Cape May (1045 Beach Drive, Cape May, NJ 08204) on February 18, 2005. The meeting is open to the public and will begin at 9:00 a.m. and continue to approximately 5:00 p.m.

This will be the initial meeting of the Committee to address the design and development of a limited access management system for the Atlantic mackerel fishery. The purpose of the meeting will be to allow the Committee and its advisors to discuss and identify controlled access management alternatives for the Atlantic mackerel fishery that may be included in Amendment 9. Specific management alternatives recommended by the Committee will be included in a supplemental scoping document that will become available to the public through the initiation of a supplemental scoping period. The timeframe for that scoping period will be specified in a future Federal Register notice. During the scoping period, any comments from the public regarding controlled access management alternatives will be accepted. After scoping is completed, the Council will specify the complete range of controlled access management alternatives that will be included in the draft public hearing document for Amendment 9.

The Committee will also review and discuss the status and schedule of the existing Amendment 9 document. This review is intended to synchronize any possible changes arising from the inclusion of a controlled access management system for Atlantic mackerel into that document so that such changes are included in the draft public hearing document that will be developed later this year.