CAPE MAY – The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold four scoping hearings in July 2017 to solicit public input on the Excessive Shares Amendment to the Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog (SCOQ) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The Council is also soliciting written comments on the amendment through July 21, 2017.
The Excessive Shares Amendment will consider measures that define what constitutes an excessive share in the SCOQ Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) program. This is necessary to ensure that no individual, corporation, or other entity acquires an excessive share of the SCOQ ITQ privileges. In addition, the amendment will consider potential revisions to the goals and objectives for the SCOQ FMP.
Additional information is available in the scoping guide for this action, available HERE or on the Council’s website at http://www.mafmc.org/actions/scoq-excessive-shares-amendment.
Attend a scoping hearing
Public scoping hearings will be held on the following dates:
- July 10, 2017, 6:30 p.m., Hilton Garden Inn Providence Airport, 1 Thurber Street, Warwick, RI 02886. Telephone: (401) 734-9600.
- July 11, 2017, 6:30 p.m., Webinar. Audio and visual access will be available at http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/scoqexcessshare/. The webinar can also be accessed via phone by calling 1-800-832-0736, room #9294759. Members of the public may also attend in-person at the Council office (800 North State St., Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901) if they contact the Council by July 7, 2017.
- July 12, 2017, 6:30 p.m., The Grand Hotel, 1045 Beach Avenue, Cape May, NJ 08204. Telephone: (609) 884-5611.
- July 17, 2017, 6:00 p.m., Ocean Pines Branch Library, 11107 Cathell Road, Berlin, MD 21811. Telephone: (410) 208-4014.
Submit Written Comments:
In addition to providing comments at any of the scoping hearings, you may submit written comments by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, July 21, 2017. Written comments may be sent by any of the following methods:
- ONLINE at http://www.mafmc.org/comments/scoq-excessive-shares-amendment-scoping
- EMAIL to jmontanez@mafmc.org
- MAIL to Dr. Christopher Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 North State Street, Suite 201, Dover, Delaware 19901
- FAX to (302) 674-5399
Please include “SCOQ Excessive Shares Amendment Scoping Comments” in the subject line if using email or fax or on the outside of the envelope if submitting written comments.
