The Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery Management Action Team (FMAT) will meet on Wednesday, September 4, 2019, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The meeting will be held in Foxborough, MA. For specific location information, please contact Jessica Coakley at jcoakley@mafmc.org.
The purpose of this meeting is to provide recommendations to address potential actions from the “Review of the Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Individual Transferable Quota Program.” These potential actions include considering mechanisms to align supply and demand for the fisheries, examining ways to promote the participation of independent harvesters in these fisheries, improving social and economic data collections for these fisheries, and evaluating the possibility of using electronic monitoring to assess the discards/commingling of surfclam and quahog in these fisheries.
The Council has scheduled a SCOQ Advisory Panel Meeting and a SCOQ Committee meeting on September 17, 2019 to review and provide comments on the FMAT’s technical recommendations. The input from the AP, Committee, along with the FMAT recommendations will be presented to the Council’s Executive Committee at the October 2019 Council meeting, when the Council discusses its 2020 Implementation Plan.
Contact Jessica Coakley at jcoakley@mafmc.org or 302-526-5252 for additional information.
Meeting Materials
About FMAT Meetings
Fishery Management Action Team (FMAT) meetings are working meetings of the Council, NOAA Fisheries, and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission staff. Information on FMAT meeting locations and how to connect via phone or webinar (if available) may be obtained by contacting Council staff prior to the meeting. This information is not posted to the Council’s website. The date and time of FMAT meetings are generally posted to the calendar on the Council’s website, sometimes with very little notice. FMAT members may discuss topics listed on the agenda in any order and may also discuss topics not listed. Members of the public may attend FMAT meetings, or listen to the meetings if they are broadcast, but should not expect to participate in the discussion unless the FMAT chair invites public input during a specified public comment period to be noted at the beginning of the meeting. Work carried out by the FMAT is considered during committee and/or Council meetings, during which public comments are encouraged.