[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 72 (Monday, April 14, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20028-20029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7901]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XG98


International Whaling Commission; 60th Annual Meeting; 
Announcement of Public Meeting

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

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the date, time, and location of the 
public meeting being held prior to the 60th annual International 
Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting.

DATES: The public meeting will be held May 7, 2008, at 1 p.m.

[[Page 20029]]


ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in the NOAA Science Center Room, 
1301 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cheri McCarty, 301-713-9090, Extension 
183.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Secretary of Commerce is charged with 
the responsibility of discharging the domestic obligations of the 
United States under the International Convention for the Regulation of 
Whaling, 1946. The U.S. Commissioner has responsibility for the 
preparation and negotiation of U.S. positions on international issues 
concerning whaling and for all matters involving the IWC. He is staffed 
by the Department of Commerce and assisted by the Department of State, 
the Department of the Interior, the Marine Mammal Commission, and by 
other agencies.
    Once the draft agenda for the annual IWC meeting is completed, it 
will be posted on the IWC Secretariat's website at http://www.iwcoffice.org.
    Each year NOAA holds a meeting prior to the annual IWC meeting to 
discuss the tentative U.S. positions for the upcoming IWC meeting. 
Because the meeting discusses U.S. positions, the substance of the 
meeting must be kept confidential. Any U.S. citizen with an 
identifiable interest in U.S. whale conservation policy may 
participate, but NOAA reserves the authority to inquire about the 
interests of any person who appears at a meeting and to determine the 
appropriateness of that person's participation.
    Persons who represent foreign interests may not attend. These 
stringent measures are necessary to protect the confidentiality of U.S. 
negotiating positions and are a necessary basis for the relatively open 
process of preparing for IWC meetings.
    The meeting will be held at 1 p.m. at the NOAA Science Center Room, 
1301 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Photo identification 
is required to enter the building.

Special Accommodations

    This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Cheri McCarty, 301-713-9090 by April 25, 2008.

    Dated: April 8, 2008.
Rebecca J. Lent,
Director, Office of International Affairs, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. E8-7901 Filed 4-11-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S