The public is invited to attend the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's February 2017 meeting to be held February 14-16, 2017 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The meeting will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn Kitty Hawk, 5353 N. Virginia Dare Trail, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949, Telephone 252-261-1290.
Webinar: For online access to the meeting, enter as a guest at: http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/february2017.
Meeting Materials: Briefing documents will be posted at http://ww.mafmc.org/briefing/february-2017 as they become available.
Agenda
Tuesday, February 14th
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. River Herring/Shad Committee Meeting
- Discuss criteria to assess progress in river herring/shad conservation
 
2:30 p.m. Council Convenes
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Meeting as a Committee of the Whole
- Review and approve public hearing document for Squid Amendment
 
4:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Law Enforcement Report
4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Presentation on National Marine Sanctuary Nomination Process, Paul Ticco - NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Wednesday, February 15th
9:00 a.m. Meeting with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Boards
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. 62nd Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop (62nd SAW), Jim Weinberg, NMFS, NEFSC
- Overview of black sea bass benchmark stock assessment findings and peer review panelist findings
 
10:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. Black Sea Bass 2017-2019 Specifications
- Overview and staff recommendation
 - SSC recommendation
 - Review Monitoring Committee and Advisory Panel recommendations
 - Adopt recommendations for 2017-2019
 
11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Black Sea Bass Research Update, Brad Stevens - UMES
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. LUNCH
1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Black Sea Bass Recreational Specifications
- Review Monitoring Committee and Advisory Panel recommendations
 - Adopt recommendations for 2017 management measures
 - Review Recreational Working Group recommendations and regional/state proposals (possible Board action)
 
3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Black Sea Bass Commercial AM Framework
- Review background, issues, and draft alternatives
 
5:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Summer Flounder Amendment
- Update on progress and timeline
 
Thursday, February 16th
9:00 a.m. Council Convenes
9:00 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
 - Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
 
 - Liaison Reports
- New England Council
 - South Atlantic Council
 - Regional Planning Body
 
 - Executive Director's Report, Chris Moore
 - Science Report, Rich Seagraves
 - Committee Reports
 - Continuing and New Business