[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 243 (Monday, December 18, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79072-79073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-32052]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 120700D]


Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

AGENCY:  National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION:  Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Ad-Hoc 
Groundfish Strategic Plan Implementation Oversight Committee (SPOC) 
will a hold work session, which is open to the public.

DATES:  The SPOC will meet Wednesday, January 10, 2001, 10 a.m. to 5 
p.m., and Thursday, January 11, 2001, from 8 a.m. until business for 
the day is completed.

ADDRESSES:  The work session will be held at the Pacific States Marine 
Fisheries Commission, Large Conference Room, 45 SE 82nd Drive, Suite 
100, Gladstone, OR 97027; telephone: (503) 650-5400.
    Council address: Pacific Fishery Management Council, 2130 SW Fifth 
Avenue, Suite 224, Portland, OR 97201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Waldeck or Don McIsaac, Pacific 
Fishery Management Council; telephone: (503) 326-6352.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  The primary purpose of this work session is 
to review topic areas and issues contained in the Groundfish Strategic 
Plan; prioritize the various topic areas and issues; develop a draft 
implementation schedule; discuss the make-up of management-alternative 
development teams; and develop recommendations to the Council about the 
implementation process and schedule, and membership of the development 
teams.
    This meeting is the first step in implementing the Groundfish 
Strategic Plan. In September 2000, the Council adopted the following 
guidelines for implementing the plan:
    1. At the September 2000 Council meeting, the Council adopts the 
Final Groundfish Strategic Plan document (per revisions incorporated 
after the summer public comment phase).
    2. The Council directs the formation of a ``Groundfish Strategic 
Plan Implementation Oversight Committee'' which should be composed of 
Council members, some of which will have been members of the Strategic 
Plan Development Committee, to ensure continuity and an effective 
transition to implementation.
    3. At its discretion, the Implementation Oversight Committee may 
establish small implementation development teams to develop specific 
alternative(s) for implementing elements of the Strategic Plan. 
Implementation development teams will be comprised of Council subpanel, 
management team, and committee members from the Groundfish Management 
Team, Groundfish Advisory Subpanel, Scientific and Statistical 
Committee, Enforcement Committee, and members of the public as deemed 
necessary by the Implementation Oversight Committee.
    4. The Implementation Oversight Committee works at the direction of 
the Council and is tasked with making recommendations regarding 
implementation of the strategic plan.
    5. The Implementation Oversight Committee goals should include: (a) 
effective transition to the implementation phase, (b) ensuring the plan 
is implemented in a timely fashion, and (c) whenever possible, doing so 
in a fashion that provides for constituent acceptance and buy-in.

[[Page 79073]]

    6. At the direction of the Council, the Implementation Oversight 
Committee will develop recommended schedules for carrying out all 
components of the strategic plan.
    7. The Implementation Oversight Committee will develop 
recommendations for all components of the strategic plan that can be 
developed further: (a) directly by the Council, (b) via advisory entity 
assignments, or (c) through formation and use of a implementation 
development team approach, e.g., capacity reduction implementation 
development team(s), which would handle all of the complexities of 
addressing the implementation of capacity reduction. For example, there 
might be four teams - with industry representatives from trawl, fixed 
gear, open access with groundfish target, and open access with non-
groundfish target. Each of these teams will also have a representative 
from the Implementation Oversight Committee, with a charge to develop a 
plan and product by ``x'' date. The Implementation Oversight Committee 
considers the work of the implementation development teams and develops 
the final recommendations for the Council. Clarification, input, and 
technical support will be available to all teams with ``on-call'' 
availability from Council staff, states, NMFS staff and General 
Counsel, etc.
    8. It will be important to consider current conditions in the 
groundfish fishery, including the effects of recent changes in resource 
status, fishery management, and the environment, as part of the 
strategic plan implementation process.
    Although non-emergency issues not contained in the SPOC meeting 
agenda may come before the SPOC for discussion, those issues may not be 
the subject of formal SPOC action during the meeting. SPOC action will 
be restricted to those issues specifically listed in this document and 
any issues arising after publication of this document that require 
emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 
provided the public has been notified of the SPOC's intent to take 
final action to address the emergency.

Special Accommodations

    The meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Ms. Carolyn Porter at (503) 326-6352 at least 5 
days prior to the meeting date.

    Dated: December 11, 2000.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-32052 Filed 12-15-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE: 3510-22 -S