[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 16, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69517-69518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-6310]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 111005A]


North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Notice of Public 
Meetings

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

ACTION: Meetings of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and 
its advisory committees.

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SUMMARY:  The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and 
its advisory committees will hold public meetings December 5 through 
13, 2005, at the Anchorage Hilton Hotel, 500 West 3rd Avenue, 
Anchorage, AK.

DATES: The Council's Advisory Panel (AP) will begin at 8 a.m., Monday, 
December 5 and continue through Friday December 9. The Scientific and 
Statistical Committee (SSC) will begin at 8 a.m. on Monday December 5 
and continue through Wednesday, December 7, 2005.
    The Council will begin its plenary session at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, 
December 7, continuing through December 13, 2005. All meetings are open 
to the public except executive sessions. The Enforcement Committee will 
meet Tuesday, December 6 in the Willow Room, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. to 
address enforcement aspects relevant to Council agenda items. The 
Ecosystem Committee will meet Tuesday, December 6 in the Birch Room, 
from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. to discuss the Council's progress on the Aleutian 
Island Ecosystem plan initiatives and the progress on the broader 
ecosystem collaboration initiative.

ADDRESSES: Anchorage Hilton Hotel, 500 West 3rd Avenue, Anchorage, AK.
    Council address: North Pacific Fishery Management Council, 605 W. 
4th Avenue, Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 99501-2252.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Council staff, Phone: 907-271-2809.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Council Plenary Session

    The agenda for the Council's plenary session will include the 
following issues. The Council may take appropriate action on any of the 
issues identified.
1. Reports
    Executive Director's Report
    NMFS Management Report (includes update on rockfish court case, 
Chiniak Gully experiment, crab arbitration timing)
     U.S. Coast Guard Report
    Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) Report (includes Alaska 
Board of Fisheries (BOF) proposals and subsistence halibut report)
    U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Report
    Protected Species Report (Report on Right Whale critical habitat 
designation; Marine Mammal Commission update; Fishery Management Plan 
(FMP) level Biological Opinion update (BiOp))
2. Halibut Charter: Consider action to rescind Halibut Charter 
Individual Fishery Quotas (IFQ)
3. Community Development Quotas (CDQ): Final action on Environmental 
Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review (EA/RIR) on management CDQ 
reserves; review of alternatives/options for revised Amendment 71.
4. BSAI Pacific Cod Allocations: Discuss Trawl catcher vessel 
eligibility options, action as necessary.
5. Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Groundfish Rationalization: Review preliminary 
community data; review other data and information and revise 
alternatives/options as appropriate; review crab and salmon bycatch 
data, alternatives, and options, and take action as necessary, 
discussion paper on crew information.
6. Groundfish Management: Final review EA, review/approve GOA 
specifications and Stock Assessment Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) report, 
review/approve BSAI specifications and SAFE report; review discussion 
paper on BSAI pollock A-season start date; review strawman problem 
statement and discuss alternatives for Bering Sea Habitat Conservation/
Essential Fish Habitat; Review BSAI salmon bycatch alternatives/options 
for closure areas.
7. Ecosystem Approaches: Report from interagency meeting and discussion 
of Aleutian Island Fishery Ecosystem Plan and Ecosystem Approach 
Management.
8. Staff Tasking: Committee and tasking; review discussion paper to 
change Maximum Retainable Amount (MRA) for the non-American Fisheries 
Act (AFA) catcher processor fleet, Vessel Monitor System (VMS) 
discussion.
9. Other Business
    The SSC agenda will include the following issues:
    1. C-2 IFQ Omnibus
    2. Groundfish Management
    3. Review Scallop Assessment Methods
    4. Chiniak research
    The Advisory Panel will address the same agenda issues as the 
Council (with the exception of C-1 Halibut Charter).

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities.

[[Page 69518]]

Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Gail Bendixen at 907-271-2809 at least 7 working 
days prior to the meeting date.

    November 10, 2005.
Tracey Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E5-6310 Filed 11-15-05; 8:45 am]
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