The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is soliciting public comments on NOAA Fisheries’ draft procedural directive titled “Guidance on Council Authority for Preparing Fishery Management Plans for Stocks that May Extend across the Geographic Areas of more than one Council, pursuant to MSA §304(f).” Any comments submitted to the Council in writing (see below for instructions) will be compiled and submitted to NOAA Fisheries.
The draft procedural directive, which has also been referred to as the “Climate Governance Policy,” is intended to provide guidance on when and how the Secretary will review and assign, or re-assign, management authority over fisheries found across more than one Council jurisdiction. NOAA Fisheries has stated that additional guidance is needed to address governance issues associated with climate-related shifts in stock distributions. Given the Mid-Atlantic Council’s shared regional boundaries with two other East coast Councils, as well as the number of Mid-Atlantic stocks that extend beyond the Council region boundaries, this policy has the potential to directly impact a number of Mid-Atlantic Council fishery management plans.
NOAA Fisheries is accepting public comments on the draft procedural directive until November 17, 2023. The eight regional fishery management councils have submitted a joint comment letter which identifies a number of concerns regarding the draft procedural directive. The Mid-Atlantic Council is currently developing a separate letter which will include additional comments specific to the Mid-Atlantic region. The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee has also reviewed and provided comments on the draft procedural directive.
Although NOAA Fisheries is solely responsible for the development and potential revision of this procedural directive, the Council is conducting this supplemental outreach effort to ensure that all interested individuals have an opportunity to provide comment on this important issue.
Comment Instructions
Written comments can be submitted to the Council using the Online Comment Form or by email to Mary Sabo at msabo@mafmc.org. Comments must be submitted to the Council by November 10 to be compiled and transmitted to NOAA Fisheries prior to the comment deadline. Comments may also be submitted directly to NOAA Fisheries by email to marian.macpherson@noaa.gov.
Learn More
Additional information and related documents are available at https://www.mafmc.org/actions/nmfs-climate-governance-policy. Contact Mary Sabo at msabo@mafmc.org or 302-526-5261 with any questions.