The New England Fishery Management Council’s Groundfish Committee will host an Aug. 17 meeting  “to discuss draft goals and objectives for modifying or replacing the existing acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rules for groundfish,” the council announced.

The ABC control rules are used in setting annual catch limits, to define how catch and fishing mortality changes with stock size. The meeting will include the council’s scientific and statistical committee and advisory groups along with the public in the discussion, starting at 9 a.m. at the Four Points by Sheraton in Wakefield, Mass.

The public can also participate online through a webinar option. 

Revising the ABC control rules is the Council’s highest groundfish priority for 2023. The Council and SSC have been discussing the issue, and on June 28, 2023, the Council initiated Framework Adjustment 68 to consider alternatives for adjusting the ABC control rules.

Background documents for groundfish committee members and meeting participants will be posted on a meeting webpage as they become available. The plan is for the meeting to develop a “draft list of possible goals and objectives for the ABC control rules framework.” The committee could then make recommendations to the full council at is Sept. 25-28 meeting in Plymouth, Mass.