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Under the Coastal Zone Management Act, the New Hampshire Coastal Program (NHCP) provides the public with opportunities to comment on activities requiring federal consistency review, proposed changes to Coastal Program rules, and draft plans. Please see below for current public notices and comment periods.

Federal Consistency Public Notices

Pursuant to Section 307(c) of the Coastal Zone Management Act, the NHCP has received consistency requests for the following proposed activities. Public Notice is provided in accordance with the Federal Consistency Regulations (15 C.F.R. Part 930).

Written comments may be submitted to the NHCP, Pease Field Office, 222 International Drive, Suite 175, Portsmouth, NH, 03801. Comments may also be submitted electronically to christian.williams@des.nh.gov. For additional information, please contact Christian Williams at (603) 559-0025.

Current Federal Consistency Notices

Agency/Applicant: National Marine Fisheries Service
Activity:The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), in consultation with the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is proposing Amendment 5 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan. The proposed Amendment focuses on establishing a comprehensive catch monitoring program for the limited access herring fishery, addressing river herring bycatch in the herring fishery, establishing criteria for midwater trawl vessel access to groundfish closed areas, and adjusting other aspects of the fishery management program to keep the Herring Fishery Management Plan in compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Several alternatives to the proposed action and other management approaches were considered by the Council during the development of Amendment 5. The proposed management action in Amendment 5 consists of a series of preferred alternatives selected by the Council. If implemented, the measures recommended by the Council, in consultation with NMFS, would: Revise regulatory definitions for transfer at-sea and offload; Revise administrative/general provisions to enhance the fishery management program; Revise the pre-trip and pre-landing notification requirements for limited access herring vessels; Revise reporting requirements for federally-permitted dealers, including a requirement that dealers must accurately weigh all fish; Create a new open access permit with a 20,000 pound herring possession limit for limited access mackerel vessels fishing in Herring Management Areas 2/3; Increase observer coverage on Category A and B herring vessels with industry-funded measures to be developed in the upcoming year; Implement management measures to improve/maximize sampling at-sea; Implement management measures to address net slippage (i.e., dumping of catch at sea before sampling by observers); Support a river herring bycatch avoidance program developed in cooperation with the fishing industry; Create a mechanism to establish a river herring catch cap; and Establish provisions to require enhanced sampling and 100 percent observer coverage on all midwater trawl vessels fishing in all of the groundfish year-round closed areas. Comments Deadline: May 24, 2013

Agency/Applicant: National Marine Fisheries Service

Activity:The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), in consultation with the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is proposing Amendment 5 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan. The proposed Amendment focuses on establishing a comprehensive catch monitoring program for the limited access herring fishery, addressing river herring bycatch in the herring fishery, establishing criteria for midwater trawl vessel access to groundfish closed areas, and adjusting other aspects of the fishery management program to keep the Herring Fishery Management Plan in compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

Several alternatives to the proposed action and other management approaches were considered by the Council during the development of Amendment 5. The proposed management action in Amendment 5 consists of a series of preferred alternatives selected by the Council. If implemented, the measures recommended by the Council, in consultation with NMFS, would:

Revise regulatory definitions for transfer at-sea and offload;
Revise administrative/general provisions to enhance the fishery management program;
Revise the pre-trip and pre-landing notification requirements for limited access herring vessels;
Revise reporting requirements for federally-permitted dealers, including a requirement that dealers must accurately weigh all fish;
Create a new open access permit with a 20,000 pound herring possession limit for limited access mackerel vessels fishing in Herring Management Areas 2/3;
Increase observer coverage on Category A and B herring vessels with industry-funded measures to be developed in the upcoming year;
Implement management measures to improve/maximize sampling at-sea;
Implement management measures to address net slippage (i.e., dumping of catch at sea before sampling by observers);
Support a river herring bycatch avoidance program developed in cooperation with the fishing industry;
Create a mechanism to establish a river herring catch cap; and
Establish provisions to require enhanced sampling and 100 percent observer coverage on all midwater trawl vessels fishing in all of the groundfish year-round closed areas.

Comments Deadline: May 24, 2013

Other Public Notices – None at this time.