October 2026 Council Meeting

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council met Tuesday, October 6 – Thursday, October 8, 2026 at The Sanderling in Duck, North Carolina.

• Motions

• Recordings

• Meeting Summary

Agenda and Briefing Materials

• Agenda

• Stock Status

• Combined Briefing Book

Tuesday, October 6th 

10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Executive Committee (Closed Session) - 2026 Ricks E Savage Award nominations

• Briefing Materials (Tab 1)

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Executive Committee (Open Session) - 2027 Implementation Plan

• Briefing Materials (Tab 2)

• Presentation

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. ---------- LUNCH ----------

1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Evaluation of Vessel Baseline Restrictions

• Briefing Materials (Tab 3)

• Presentation

3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Scup Gear Restricted Areas (GRAs) Project

• Briefing Materials (Tab 4)

• Presentation

• Supplemental: Full Project Report

Wednesday, October 7th      

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. 2027 Illex Squid Specifications

• Briefing Materials (Tab 5)

• Presentation

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Illex Quota Issues

• Briefing Materials (Tab 6)

• Presentation

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. 2027 Atlantic Mackerel Specifications

• Briefing Materials (Tab 7)

• Presentation

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. ---------- LUNCH ----------

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Longfin Squid Research Track Assessment

• Briefing Materials (Tab 8)

• Presentation

2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. 2027 Spiny Dogfish Specifications

• Briefing Materials (Tab 9)

• Presentation

2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Joint MAFMC and SAFMC Blueline Tilefish Subcommittee Update

• Briefing Materials (Tab 10)

• Presentation

3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Habitat Activities Update – Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) Habitat and Ecosystem Services Division

• Briefing Materials (Tab 11)

• Presentation

3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Regional Offshore Wind Fisheries Compensatory Mitigation Fund Update – Deirdre Boelke, Fisheries Insight Network

• Briefing Materials (Tab 12)

• Supplemental: Comment Letter_Sea Owl Fishing Charters

• Presentation

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP) Scoping Presentation – Corie Grewal, NOAA Fisheries

• Briefing Materials (Tab 13)

• Presentation

Thursday, October 8th

9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Business Session

• Committee Reports:

  • Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) (Tab 14)

  • Executive Committee

• Executive Director’s Report (Tab 15)

  • Presentation

  • Supplemental:

    • Clam Industry Letter to Dr. Neil Jacobs Regarding Clam Survey (9/28/26)

    • MAFMC to FDA: Molluscan Shellfish Biotoxin Protocols (8/19/26)

      • FDA Response to MAFMC (9/30/26)

• Organization Reports:

  • NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office - Status of Actions Report

  • NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center

  • NOAA Office of General Counsel

  • NOAA Office of Law Enforcement

  • US Coast Guard

• Liaison Reports (Tab 16)

  • New England Council - September 2026 Meeting Press Releases

  • South Atlantic Council - September 2026 Liaison Report

• Other Business and General Public Comment