Public Comments Due On Discard Provision For Herring Midwater Trawling In Groundfish Closed Area I (5:00 pm)
NMFS seeks public comment on a provision of the regulations implemented by a November 2, 2009, final rule, as well as comments on proposed alternatives to replace this provision. The provision allows a midwater trawl vessel with an All Areas and/or Areas 2 and 3 Atlantic herring limited access permit fishing in Northeast multispecies Closed Area I to release fish that cannot be pumped from the net and, thus, remain in the net at the end of pumping operations, without those fish being sampled by a NMFS at-sea observer. Based on comments that it receives, NMFS may keep the current provision unchanged, modify the provision, or remove the provision entirely. This action is part of a Court-approved joint motion to stay.

Comments must be received no later than 5 p.m. eastern time, October 7, 2010.

http://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2010/09/07/2010-22347/fisheries-of-the-northeastern-united-states-discard-provision-for-herring-midwater-trawl-vessels

Public Comments Due On Proposed Rule For Amendment 4 (5:00 pm)
Public comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., eastern standard time, on October 12, 2010.

http://www.nero.noaa.gov/nero/regs/frdoc/10/10HerAmend4NOA.pdf

Herring Plan Development Team Meeting (2:00 pm - 5:00 pm)
Conference Call
Date: Thursday, October 14, 2010
Time: 2- 5 p.m.

Agenda items:
• Review/discuss action taken at September 28-30, 2010 New England Council meeting
• Discuss analyses to be completed and prioritize issues/workload for upcoming Herring Committee meetings
• Discuss/plan work for Amendment 5 Draft EIS
• Plan November PDT meeting

The PDT may discuss the above issues in any order and may discuss other issues not contained in this notice.

Although PDT meetings are open to the public, they are not public meetings. Members of the public may attend but should not expect to speak at PDT meetings unless the PDT chair requests their input.

PDTs are responsible to the Council and work as directed by the Council's committees. The Council and its Committees, and not the PDTs, set management policy. As a result, comments about management options, unless solicited by the PDTs, should be provided to the committees and not to the PDTs.

The Council office conference room is available to members of the public who wish to listen in on this call. You will not be able to listen from any outside line. Please notify Joan O'Leary ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) if you plan on using the conference room.

Contact Info : Joan O'Leary (978) 465-0492 Email : joleary@nefmc.org Url: http://nefmc.org/herring/index.html