[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 169 (Thursday, August 29, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45407-45408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-22003]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 082096E]
North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Committee Meetings
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public meetings.
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SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its
advisory bodies will hold public meetings.
ADDRESSES: Sitka Centennial Building, 330 Harbor Drive, Sitka, AK
99835.
Council address: North Pacific Fishery Management Council, 605 W.
4th Ave., Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 99501-2252.
DATES: The meetings will be held during the week of September 16, 1996.
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates and times.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Council staff, Phone: 907-271-2809.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Committee meetings scheduled include the
Ecosystems Committee and the Enforcement Committee. Other committee and
workgroup meetings may be held on short notice during the week; notices
will be posted at the meeting site. All meetings are open to the public
with the exception of Council executive sessions to discuss personnel,
international issues, and litigation. An executive session is
tentatively scheduled for noon on September 19, 1996. The Advisory
Panel (AP) and the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will
begin on September 16, 1996, at 8:00 a.m. The SSC will conclude their
meeting on September 18, 1996, and the AP will conclude their meeting
by September 19, 1996. The Council will begin their meeting on
September 18, 1996, at 8:00 a.m. and conclude on September 22, 1996.
The Enforcement Committee and the Ecosystems Committee are both
scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on September 18, 1996. The agenda for the
meetings will include the following subjects:
1. Reports from the National Marine Fisheries Service and Alaska
Department of Fish and Game on the current status of the fisheries off
Alaska, reports on enforcement, the Bering Sea ecosystem, and the
results from the socio-economic studies report on the sablefish and
halibut individual fisheries quota program.
2. Report and recommendations from an industry committee on crab
caps and closures in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) and final
action on Tanner crab prohibited species caps (PSC).
3. Final action on measures to improve retention and utilization in
the groundfish fisheries off Alaska.
4. Status report on modified pay-as-you-go observer program and
initial review of a regulatory amendment to require additional observer
coverage on shore plants and motherships during the pollock ``A''
season.
5. Under groundfish management, the following subjects will be
discussed and appropriate action taken:
(a) Review of BSAI and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Stock Assessment and
Fishery Evaluation reports for the 1997 groundfish fisheries and
approval for public review.
(b) Approve preliminary harvest and bycatch specifications for 1997
groundfish fisheries in the BSAI and GOA, including discard mortality
rates for halibut and Vessel Incentive Program rate standards.
(c) Initial review of an amendment to remove dusky rockfish from
the GOA pelagic shelf rockfish complex.
(d) Final action on revised directed fishing standards for turbot,
Pacific cod and pollock in the arrowtooth fisheries and northern
rockfish in the shortraker/rougheye fisheries and proposed electronic
reporting requirements.
(e) Initial review of amendments to ban night trawling for Pacific
cod in the BSAI, to prohibit a directed fishery on forage fish, and to
reduce percentage allowances for accounting for slime and ice on fish.
(f) Review of a proposed rule for seamount restrictions.
6. Under staff tasking the Council will review proposals received
for amendments to the BSAI and GOA Groundfish Fishery Management Plans
and for amendments to the Sablefish and Halibut IFQ Program and give
direction to staff for further analysis. The IFQ proposals will be
forwarded to the Industry IFQ Implementation Team
[[Page 45408]]
for review and comment prior to tasking staff with analyses.
Special Accommodations
These meetings are physically accessible to people with
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to Helen Allen, 907-271-2809, at
least 5 working days prior to the meeting date.
Dated: August 21, 1996.
Richard H. Schaefer,
Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-22003 Filed 8-28-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F