[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 58 (Monday, March 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 12943]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06032]



[[Page 12943]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XG100


Pacific Bluefin Tuna Management Strategy Evaluation National 
Marine Fisheries Service Listening Sessions; Meeting Announcement

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is holding a listening session to provide information and 
receive stakeholder input regarding an upcoming Pacific bluefin tuna 
management strategy evaluation workshop. The listening session will be 
broadcast in two separate locations, and will include presentations and 
time for stakeholder input into the development of management 
objectives. The meeting topics are described under the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this notice.

DATES: The meeting will be held on April 18, 2018, from 12:30 p.m. to 
4:30 p.m. PDT.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held concurrently in two locations: (1) 
In the Pacific Conference Room (Room 300) at NMFS, Southwest Fisheries 
Science Center, 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, California 92037; 
(2) Room 3400 at the Long Beach Federal Building, 501 W Ocean Blvd., 
Long Beach, California 90802. Please notify Celia Barroso (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) by April 11, 2018, if you plan to attend 
and whether you will be attending in person or remotely. The meetings 
will be accessible by webinar--instructions and background materials 
will be emailed to meeting participants.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Celia Barroso, West Coast Region, 
NMFS, at [email protected], or at (562) 432-1850.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The International Scientific Committee for 
Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the North Pacific Ocean is hosting the 
first Pacific bluefin tuna management strategy evaluation (MSE) 
workshop May 30-31, 2018, in Yokohama, Japan. MSE is a simulation that 
allows stakeholders (e.g., industry, managers, scientists) to assess 
how well different management strategies, such as harvest control 
rules, meet the objectives of the fishery. In accordance with the 
outcomes from the 2nd Joint Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission--
Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission Northern Committee 
Working Group meeting,\1\ NMFS anticipates that at this first workshop, 
participants will begin to develop potential management objectives that 
might be used in the MSE for the Pacific bluefin tuna fishery.
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    \1\ https://www.wcpfc.int/meetings/nc13.
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    For the listening session, NMFS will provide stakeholders with 
background on the status of the Pacific bluefin tuna stock and the MSE 
process. Additionally, NMFS is interested in learning from stakeholders 
about preferred management objectives. The manner of public comment 
will be at the discretion of the presenters and NMFS staff.

Pacific Bluefin Tuna MSE Listening Session Topics

    The Pacific bluefin tuna MSE topics will include, but are not 
limited to, the following:
    (1) An overview of MSE and
    (2) Example management objectives for Pacific bluefin tuna.

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 Celia Barroso (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT) by April 5, 2018.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 951 et seq. and 16 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.

    Dated: March 20, 2018.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-06032 Filed 3-23-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P