The public is invited to attend the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's August 2016 meeting to be held August 8 – 11, 2016 in Virginia Beach, VA. The meeting will be held at the Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront, 3001 Atlantic Avenue, Virginia Beach, VA 23451, Telephone 757-213-3000.
Webinar: For online access to the meeting, enter as a guest at: http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/august2016.
Briefing Materials: Documents will be posted at http://www.mafmc.org/briefing/august-2016 as they become available.
Monday, August 8th
9:00 a.m. – 9:20 a.m. Executive Committee Meeting (closed session)
9:20 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Executive Committee Meeting (open)
- Review letter regarding governance of summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass
- Coordination of research with SAFMC
10:00 a.m. Council convenes
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Unmanaged Forage Amendment Final Action
- Review comments received during public hearings
- Review Ecosystem/Ocean Planning Advisory Panel and Committee recommendations for final action
- Select preferred alternatives
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Unmanaged Forage Amendment Cont’d
2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) Guidance Document
- Review, finalize, and approve EAFM Guidance Document
- Review and discusspotential framework for integrating ecosystem interactions into fisheries assessment and management
Tuesday, August 9th
9:00 a.m. Demersal Committee Meeting as a Committee of the Whole with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass and Bluefish Boards
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Summer Flounder Amendment Alternatives
- Review and provide feedback on list of amendment issues and Fishery Management Action Team recommendations
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Lunch
1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Summer Flounder Specifications
- Review SSC, Monitoring Committee, Advisory Panel, and staff recommendations regarding 2017 – 2018 specifications
- Recommend any changes if necessary
3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Black Sea Bass Specifications
- Review SSC, Monitoring Committee, Advisory Panel, and staff recommendations regarding 2017 specifications
- Recommend any changes if necessary
Wednesday, August 10th
9:00 a.m. Demersal Committee Meeting as a Committee of the Whole with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass and Bluefish Boards
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Scup Specifications
- Review SSC, Monitoring Committee, Advisory Panel, and staff recommendations regarding 2017 – 2018 specifications
- Recommend any changes if necessary
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Bluefish Specifications
- Review SSC, Monitoring Committee, Advisory Panel, and staff recommendations regarding 2017 – 2018 specifications
- Recommend any changes if necessary
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. Council Convenes
1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Executive Committee Report
1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Policy on Fishing Impacts on Habitat
- Review and consider approval of draft policy
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. For-Hire Electronic VTR Framework Meeting 2
- Review Framework document and analyses
- Address issues raised at June Council meeting
- Summary of constituent input
- Summarize revisions made
- Select final alternative(s)
- Discuss implementation process
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Law Enforcement Reports
- NOAA Office of Law Enforcement
- U.S. Coast Guard
Thursday, August 11th
9:00 a.m. Council Convenes
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Swearing In of New Council Members/Election of Officers
9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Business Session
- Organization Reports
- NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Office
- NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center
- NOAA Office of General Counsel
- Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
- Liaison Reports
- New England Council
- South Atlantic Council
- Regional Planning Body
- Executive Director's Report - Chris Moore
- Science Report - Rich Seagraves
- Committee Reports
- Ecosystem and Ocean Planning Committee
- SSC
- Continuing and New Business