November 2022 Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee Meeting

This is a hybrid meeting of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC), which advises NOAA and the Department of Commerce on living marine resource issues.

About

Primary goals of this meeting are to convene to hear presentations and discuss policies and guidance on: the new NOAA aquaculture strategic plan, program updates, and seafood communications efforts; fisheries science and the Climate, Ecosystems, and Fisheries Initiative; budget outlook; an overview of habitat restoration funding opportunities; and updates on America the Beautiful and the draft NOAA Fisheries Equity and Environmental Justice Strategy. MAFAC will deliberate on draft reports from subcommittees working on fisheries and seafood industry workforce development and recommendations to update the NOAA Fisheries National Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Policy. MAFAC will discuss various administrative and organizational matters, and meetings of subcommittees and working groups will be convened.

Schedule

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

Day 1 – Tuesday, November 29, 2022 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM ET
Time	Min	Subject	Presenter
8:30 – 8:45	15	Welcome, Roll Call, & Agenda Review	Megan Davis, PhD, MAFAC Chair Jennifer Lukens, Director, Office of Policy and Designated Federal Officer (DFO)
8:45 – 9:30	45	Report of the Assistant Administrator Updates and activities since May 2022 Questions/Discussion with MAFAC	Janet Coit, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries
9:30 – 9:45	30	Introduction of Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator of Operations General introduction of Jim Landon DAAO Priorities, workforce, return to offices topics	Jim Landon, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator of Operations
9:45-10:00	15	Break/Stretch
10:00-10:30	30	Updates from the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Affairs – Informational America the Beautiful Initiative (presentation) Draft EEJ Strategy - Discuss overview of comments received (presentation)	Sam Rauch, Deputy Assistant Administrator of Regulatory Programs
10:30-11:30	60	NOAA Tribal Engagement – Informational Reflections on his position, focus, and charge from Dr. Spinrad.	Zach Penney, PhD, NOAA Senior Tribal Policy Advisor
11:30-1:00	90	Lunch
1:00- 1:45	45	Workforce Development Working Group – (presentation) Present draft report. Questions & discussion.	Joe Schumacker, Working Group Co-Chair Roger Berkowitz, Working Group Co-Chair
1:45 – 2:45	60	NOAA Fisheries Aquaculture Program 101 & Updates– Informational (presentation) NOAA Aquaculture Program review for new members and presentation of the new NOAA Aquaculture Strategic Plan. Updates on the NSTC Subcommittee on Aquaculture’s strategic plans	Kristine Cherry, Branch Chief, Regulatory and Policy Branch, Office of Aquaculture David O’Brien, Acting Director, Office of Aquaculture
2:45 -2:55	10	Public comment
2:55 – 3:10	15	Break/Stretch
3:10 – 4:55	105	Work Plan Discussion – Part I Fisheries & Seafood Resilience, Priorities, and Vision for the Future	Megan Davis, PhD, MAFAC Chair Janet Coit, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Jennifer Lukens, Director, Office of Policy and DFO
4:55 - 5:00	5	Recap & Overview of Wednesday’s Sessions	Megan Davis, PhD, MAFAC Chair Jennifer Lukens, DFO
5:00 PM		Adjourn

Day 2 – Wednesday, November 30, 2022 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM ET
Time	Min.	Subject	Presenter
8:30 -8:40	10	Opening Remarks	Megan Davis, PhD, MAFAC Chair Jennifer Lukens, DFO
8:40 – 9:10	30	Reports from the State Directors Meeting and Fisheries Commissions – Informational Outlook for year ahead	Bob Beal, Executive Director, Atlantic States David Donaldson, Executive Director, Gulf States Barry Thom, Executive Director, Pacific States
9:10 -10:00	50	NOAA Fisheries Budget Outlook & Administrative Update – Informational (presentation) Status of FY2023 budget outlook. Response/action to NAPA recommendation.	Brian Pawlak, Director, Office of Management and Budget
10:00 -10:30	30	Overview of BIL Funding and Restoration Opportunities – Informational (presentation) Discuss the unprecedented opportunity created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to restore habitat for our trust resources and increase coastal and community resilience across the country.	Carrie Robinson, Director, Office of Habitat Conservation
10:30– 10:45	15	Break/Stretch
10:45-11:15	30	Recreational Fisheries Activities –Informational (presentation) Review current National Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Policy and provide context for the MAFAC discussion Update on federal agency collaboration efforts related to recreational fishing.	Russ Dunn, Senior Recreational Fisheries Advisor
11:15-12:00	45	Recreational Fishing Subcommittee – Presentation Review draft recommendations for the NOAA National Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Policy. Questions/Discussion	Donna Kalez, Subcommittee Chair
12:00 – 1:30	90	Lunch
1:30 – 2:45	75	Science Update – Informational (presentation) Synthesis of Climate Science and the Next-Gen Data Acquisition Plan (NG-DAP) moving forward in FY23. Climate, Ecosystems, and Fisheries Initiative (CEFI) Updates Other science enterprise updates may be included.	Cisco Werner, PhD, Director, Scientific Programs and Chief Science Advisor
2:45 -3:45	60	Work Plan Discussion – Part II Fisheries & Seafood Resilience, Priorities, and Vision for the Future	Megan Davis, PhD, MAFAC Chair Jennifer Lukens, Director, Office of Policy and DFO
3:45-4:00	15	Break/Stretch
4:00 – 5:00	60	Subcommittee Work Time Workforce Management Working Group Recreational Fisheries Subcommittee
5:00 pm		Adjourn

Day 3 – Thursday, December 1, 2022 8:30 AM – 2:40 PM ET
Time	Min.	Subject	Presenter
8:30 – 9:30	60	Protected Resources Subcommittee – Subcommittee Work Time Subcommittee is developing a survey to use for creating a severity index related to different fishery interactions with marine mammals and effectiveness of deterrents.	Sara McDonald, PhD Subcommittee Chair
9:30-9:35	5	Opening Remarks	Megan Davis, Chair Jennifer Lukens, Director, Office of Policy and DFO
9:35 -10:05	30	NOAA Fisheries Seafood Communications Update – Informational Website Updates, FishWatch, new features, and stories of the “faces” of seafood	Laura Diederick, External Affairs Lead, Office of Communications
10:05-12:05	120	Approval of Draft Recommendations ACTION Discussion & Final Action on a MAFAC recommendation for the National Saltwater Fishing Policy and Workforce Development. Documents considered and approved are listed under the Key Resources section above.	Megan Davis, MAFAC Chair
12:05-1:20	75	Lunch
1:20 – 2:20	60	Work Plan Discussion – Part III Fisheries & Seafood Resilience, Priorities, and Vision for the Future Reflect on earlier discussions and identify next steps (work products, working groups, etc.).	Megan Davis, MAFAC Chair
2:20- 2:40	20	Close Out: Review of Action Items, Next Steps, Next Meeting	Megan Davis, Chair Jennifer Lukens, Director, Office of Policy
2:40		Adjourn

Last updated by Office of Policy on 07/07/2023