[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 67 (Tuesday, April 7, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 19457]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07288]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XW019]


U.S. Stakeholder Meeting on Pacific Bluefin Tuna Fishery 
Management Framework; Meeting Announcement

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting; rescheduled meeting.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is holding a meeting to discuss the future management of 
the U.S. West Coast Pacific bluefin tuna (PBF) fishery, including 
management objectives and a management framework. Given recent 
developments related to Coronavirus/COVID-19, we have decided to 
reschedule this meeting originally planned for April 23, 2020. We are 
taking this step out of an abundance of caution to consider the safety 
of our visitors. The new date for this meeting is May 19, 2020.

DATES: The meeting will be held May 19, 2020, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 
PDT, or until business concludes.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in Room 3400 at the Glenn M. 
Anderson Federal Building, 501 W. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, California 
90802. Please notify Eric Poncelet (meeting facilitator), at 
[email protected] or (415) 697-0566 by May 4, 2020, if you plan 
to attend. If interested members of the public cannot reasonably attend 
the meeting in person, NMFS may provide for a teleconference phone line 
or webinar for such members if a request is made to the meeting 
facilitator. NMFS strongly encourages in-person participation in order 
to facilitate discussion, unless developments related to Coronavirus/
COVID-19 restrict attendance in person at that time. See SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION for additional information on attendance, participation 
instructions, and meeting materials.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS intended to hold a meeting to discuss 
the future management of the U.S. West Coast PBF fishery, including 
management objectives and a management framework, on April 23, 2020 (85 
FR 11967; February 28, 2020). However, given recent developments 
related to Coronavirus/COVID-19, we have decided to reschedule this 
meeting originally planned for April 23, 2020. We are taking this step 
out of an abundance of caution to consider the safety of our 
participants. The new date for this meeting is May 19, 2020.
    Stakeholders have expressed an interest in developing management 
objectives and a long-term management framework for PBF. In September 
2018, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) recommended that 
its Highly Migratory Species Management Team develop a long-term 
management strategy for PBF (see the PFMC's ``September 2018 Decision 
Summary Document'' at https://www.pcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/0918_Decision_Summary_DocumentV2.pdf). On May 2, 2019, NMFS held a 
stakeholder meeting in which participants discussed potential 
management objectives and strategies to achieve those objectives for 
the domestic commercial PBF fishery (see the NMFS report to the June 
PFMC meeting at https://www.pcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/J2b_Sup_NMFS_Rpt3_JUN2019BB.pdf). The upcoming meeting that is 
rescheduled for May 19, 2020, is intended to follow up the discussion 
from the 2019 stakeholder meeting as well as provide an opportunity for 
early comments on how to implement a new Inter-American Tropical Tuna 
Commission (IATTC) resolution on PBF conservation and management for 
2021-2022 that NMFS anticipates the IATTC will adopt at its annual 
meeting in August 2020. In order to facilitate discussion, NMFS 
strongly encourages in-person participation at the meeting location 
described in the ADDRESSES section, if possible and unless developments 
related to Coronavirus/COVID-19 restrict attendance in person at that 
time. NMFS will email attendance instructions, which may include 
instructions to attend by teleconference or webinar, and background 
materials to the meeting participants who notify the meeting 
facilitator as described in the ADDRESSES section.

PBF U.S. Stakeholder Meeting Topics

    The PBF U.S. stakeholder meeting topics may include, but are not 
limited to, the following:
    (1) An overview of international management of PBF and current 
management of the U.S. PBF fishery; and,
    (2) Potential management options for 2021-2022 and in the long-
term.

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, at 
[email protected] or (562) 432-1850, by April 27, 2020.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 951 et seq., 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., 16 
U.S.C. 6901 et seq.

    Dated: April 2, 2020.
H[eacute]l[egrave]ne M.N. Scalliet,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-07288 Filed 4-6-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P