October 2015 Council Meeting in Philadelphia, PA

The public is invited to attend the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's October 2015 meeting on October 6 – 8, 2015 in Philadelphia, PA. The meeting will be held at the Doubletree Philadelphia Center City, 237 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, Telephone 215-893-1600. Additional details and briefing materials will be posted on the October 2015 Council Meeting page.

For online access to the meeting, enter as a guest at: 
http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/october2015/

Agenda

PDF Agenda

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

9:00 a.m. Council Convenes

9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.  Habitat Workshop

  • A workshop to discuss potential strategies to more fully integrate habitat into the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management process

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.  Lunch

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.  Habitat Workshop (Continued)

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.  Blueline Tilefish

  • Approve range of alternatives for blueline tilefish amendment

3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.  Spiny Dogfish Specifications (Spiny Dogfish Committee of the Whole)

  • Review SSC ABC, Monitoring Committee and AP recommendations
  • Recommend 2016 – 2018 spiny dogfish specifications and associated management measures

4:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.  Bureau of Ocean Energy Management - Brian Hooker

  • Update on recent activities

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.  Executive Committee

  • Review 2015 Implementation Plan
  • Discuss and review 2016 Implementation Plan

10:00 a.m. Council Convenes

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.  Comprehensive Research Plan

  • Review and approve Council’s 2016-2020 Five-Year Research Priority Plan

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.  Council Cooperative Research Plan

  • Identify research priorities for near-term cooperative research projects

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.  Lunch

1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.  Black Sea Bass Acceptable Biological Catch 2016/2017

  • Review SSC report regarding data limited methods for recommending black sea bass Acceptable Biological Catch
  • Revise 2016-2017 black sea bass catch limit recommendations if appropriate

2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.  NEFMC Framework for Surfclams and Ocean Quahogs - Michelle Bachman

  • Clam dredge exemption areas on Georges Bank and Nantucket shoals areas

3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.  Unmanaged Forage Scoping Results

  • Summary of scoping comments
  • Identify next steps

5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.  Sex-Specific Model for Summer Flounder - Pat Sullivan

  • Update on progress

Thursday, October 8, 2015

9:00 a.m.  Council Convenes

9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.  Industry Funded Observer Amendment - GARFO

  • Identify preferred alternatives for public hearings

11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.  Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management Policy - Heather Sager

  • Review NOAA Draft Policy Statement on Ecosystem Based Fishery Management

11:30 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
    • NOAA Office of Law Enforcement
    • U.S. Coast Guard
    • Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
  • Liaison Reports
    • New England Council
    • South Atlantic Council
  • Executive Director's Report - Chris Moore
  • Science Report - Rich Seagraves
  • Committee Reports
    • Executive Committee
    • SSC
  • Continuing and New Business