On Tuesday, November 8th (10:30AM to 4PM), the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Northern Shrimp Section will meet at the Holiday Inn by the Bay (88 Spring St., Portland ME) to hold a public hearing and season-setting meeting for the 2006 northern shrimp fishery.

The Section will review recommendations forwarded by the Advisory Panel. Parties interested in commenting on recommendations should contact Brad Spear, ASMFC Northern Shrimp Management Plan Coordinator, for further details (202.289.6400 or email at bspear@asmfc.org).

Final details of the 2006 specifications, as approved by the ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section, will be published on November 9th by MarineFisheries, on its web site and through the e-mail Listserv. Subsequently, MarineFisheries will hold a two-week comment period that will end on Monday, November 21st and unless otherwise notified by the Director, will become effective on December 1, 2005.

The following is the notice of MarineFisheries’ public comment period:

NOTICE OF PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

Under the provisions of M.G.L. Ch 30A and pursuant to the authority found in M.G.L. Ch. 130 ss. 17, 17A, 80, 100A, and 104, Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) and the Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) have scheduled a public comment period on the MarineFisheries proposal to adopt annual specifications for northern shrimp (322 CMR 5.00) including the manner and times of taking northern shrimp, legal size limits, numbers or quantities of northern shrimp to be taken, and the opening and closing of areas to the taking of northern shrimp as approved by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Northern Shrimp Section at their November 8, 2005 season-setting meeting and public hearing. Unless otherwise notified by the Director, annual specifications as approved by the ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section shall become effective on December 1, 2005. Contact DMF for further details.

Written comments may be received by e-mail,
(melanie.griffin@state.ma.us), fax (617.626.1509), or mail (251 Causeway St., Suite 400; Boston, MA 02114) and
will be accepted until 9AM on Monday, November 21, 2005.