[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 19, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3091-3092]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1025]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA133


National Annual Catch Limit Science Workshop; Meeting 
Announcement

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

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces a workshop which will focus potential areas of 
improvement in scientific information needed to support Annual Catch 
Limits (ACL) and Accountability Measures (AM). The meeting will be held 
on February 15-17, 2011, at the Crowne Plaza, Silver Spring, MD. 
Meeting topics are provided under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 
of this notice.

DATES: The meeting will be held on February 15-17, 2011, from 9 a.m. to 
5 p.m. EST.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Crowne Plaza, Silver Spring, 
8777 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, telephone 1-877-270-1393.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Methot, Office of Science and 
Technology, NMFS at [email protected], or at (206) 860-3365.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NOAA Fisheries Service is announcing a 
National Annual Catch Limit (ACL) Science Workshop on February 15-17, 
2011, in Silver Spring, MD. The meeting will be held in conjunction 
with the regional Fishery Management Councils (Councils) and will 
involve NOAA Fisheries Service staff, Council representatives and 
nationally recognized fishery science experts.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) 
was amended in 2007, to include a requirement to implement ACLs and 
accountability measures in the nation's fisheries. This mandate, and 
the subsequent update of National Standard 1 Guidelines, substantially 
changed the nature and amount of data needed to manage the nation's 
fisheries. The workshop will focus on scoping potential improvements in 
the state of scientific information needed to support implementation of 
the MSA, particularly the determination and implementation of Annual 
Catch Limits (ACL). The scope of this science issues associated with 
ACLs is quite broad, and not all topics can be fully covered. The 
proposed topics to be addressed include:
     Identifying data needs, and related costs, of conducting 
additional stock assessments.
     Calculating and communicating uncertainty in stock 
assessments.
     Considering socio-economic and ecosystem considerations, 
in the definition of optimum yield.
     Developing cost-effective approaches to developing ACLs 
and AMs for data-poor stocks.
     How to best use cooperative research programs to augment 
needed data.
     Coordinating the roles of Science Centers, SSCs, and peer 
review systems in providing the best scientific information available.
     Identifying improvements to commercial and recreational 
fishery monitoring programs to provide scientists and managers with the 
data they need.

Special Accommodations

    The meeting location is physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Mark Nelson at (301) 713-2341 at 
least five working days prior to the meeting.


[[Page 3092]]


    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: January 13, 2011.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-1025 Filed 1-18-11; 8:45 am]
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