The public is invited to attend the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's meeting to be held December 10-13 in Annapolis, MD. The meeting will be held at Westin Annapolis (100 Westgate Circle, Annapolis, MD 21401, Telephone 410-972-4300).
Meeting Materials: Briefing documents will be posted at http://ww.mafmc.org/briefing/december-2018 as they become available.
Public Comments: Written comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. on November 28 to be included in the Council meeting briefing book. Comments received after this deadline but before 5:00 p.m. on December 6 will be posted as “supplemental materials” on the Council meeting web page. After that date, all comments must be submitted using an online comment form available at available at http://www.mafmc.org/public-comment.
Webinar: For online access to the meeting, enter as a guest at: http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/december2018.
Agenda
Monday, December 10th
1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Executive Committee Meeting (CLOSED)
Ricks E Savage Award
1:30 p.m. Council Convenes
1:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Council Photo
1:45 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Risk Policy Framework
Final results of Summer Flounder Economic Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE), Doug Lipton - NMFS
Discuss next steps
3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Law Enforcement Workshop Report
Report on Law Enforcement/For-Hire Workshop (November 13-14, 2018)
Review workshop summary and develop recommendations on further actions
Tuesday, December 11th
9:00 a.m. Council Meeting with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Boards
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Discussion of Potential 2019 Mid-Year Revisions for Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass
Discuss timeline for revising 2019 summer flounder specifications
Discuss potential for mid-year revisions to 2019 black sea bass and scup specifications, including timing of 2019 operational assessment
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Black Sea Bass 2019 Recreational Specifications
Review recent fishery performance, Monitoring Committee and Advisory Panel recommendations
Adopt recommendations for 2019 federal waters recreational management measures
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Scup 2019 Recreational Specifications
Review recent fishery performance, Monitoring Committee and Advisory Panel recommendations
Adopt recommendations for 2019 federal waters recreational management measures
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Summer Flounder 2019 Recreational Specifications
Review recent fishery performance, Monitoring Committee recommendations and Advisory Panel recommendations
Discuss timeline for developing 2019 recreational measures in early 2019 based on benchmark assessment results
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Framework and Addendum XXXI on Conservation Equivalency, Block Island Sound Transit, and Slot Limits
Take final action
4:00 p.m. End of Joint Meeting for the Day
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Board-Only Meeting on Addendum XXXII for Summer Flounder and Black Sea Bass Recreational Management
Take final action
Wednesday, December 12th
9:00 a.m. Council Meeting with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Boards
9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Summer Flounder Commercial Issues and Goals and Objectives Amendment
Take final action
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Revised Stock Assessment Process, NEFSC
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. -2:00 p.m. Presentation on Summer Flounder F-Based Management MSE
Review preliminary results of MSE to explore F-based recreational management, G. Fay and J. McNamee
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Black Sea Bass Amendment and Review of Progress on Commission’s Strategic Plan for Black Sea Bass
Discuss initiation of an amendment including identification of issues to consider
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Research Steering Committee Report
Report on Research Steering Committee Webinar (November 27, 2018)
Discuss recommendations from the meeting
5:00 p.m. End of Joint Meeting
Thursday, December 13th
9:00 a.m. Council Convenes
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team Report, Michael Asaro - NMFS
9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. 2019 Implementation Plan
Review and approve 2019 Implementation Plan
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Business Session
Committee Reports
Scientific and Statistical Committee Report
Executive Committee
Executive Director's Report, Chris Moore
Organization Reports
NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Office
NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center
NOAA Office of General Counsel
NOAA Office of Law Enforcement
US Coast Guard
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
Liaison Reports
New England Council
South Atlantic Council
Continuing and New Business