[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 107 (Monday, June 4, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 25650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11893]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XG274


North 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: NMFS has requested the Center for Independent Experts (CIE) to 
conduct a peer review of the agency's stock assessments for the 
Aleutian Islands golden king crab (AIGKC) and Norton Sound red king 
crab (NSRKC) stocks. The CIE is a group affiliated with the University 
of Miami that provides independent peer reviews of NMFS science 
nationwide, including reviews of stock assessments for fish, shellfish 
and marine mammals. The AIGKC and NSRKC stock assessments are reviewed 
annually by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, the North Pacific 
Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) Crab Plan Team, and the NPFMC 
Scientific and Statistical Committee. The CIE review will examine 
whether the assessments incorporate the best scientific information 
available for making management decisions and whether they provide 
reasonable approaches to understanding the population dynamics and 
stock status for the AIGKC and NSRKC stocks. The public is invited to 
attend and observe the presentations and discussions between the CIE 
panel and the NMFS and Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADFG) 
scientists who designed the underlying assessment models, collected the 
data, and performed the stock assessments.

DATES: The meeting will be held on Monday, June 18, 2018, through 
Thursday, June 21, 2018 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Alaska Fisheries Science 
Center, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115-6349. Visitors will 
need to provide proper ID and sign in at the front desk.
    Council address: North Pacific Fishery Management Council, 605 W. 
4th Ave., Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 99501-2252; telephone (907) 271-
2809.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Stockhausen, AFSC staff; 
telephone: (206) 526-4241.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CIE panel will consist of three peer 
reviewers who will assess materials related to the topics, participate 
in a review workshop with the NMFS and ADFG scientists who developed 
the assessment models and the analytical approaches, and produce a 
report. This review will be highly technical in nature and will cover 
mathematical details of the analytical approaches.
    Members of the public are invited to observe, and will be provided 
opportunities to contribute on June 18-20, 2018. The final report will 
be available prior to the September NPFMC Plan Team meetings and will 
consist of individual reports from each panelist and a summary report. 
The results of the review will be presented during the September 2018 
NPFMC Crab Plan Team meeting, which will be announced later in the 
Federal Register.

Special Accommodations

    These workshops will be physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Laura Oremland, (301) 427-8162, at 
least 10 working days prior to the meeting date.

    Dated: May 30, 2018.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-11893 Filed 6-1-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P