[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 117 (Wednesday, June 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36562-36563]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-13073]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XW033]


General Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section to the Inter-
American Tropical Tuna Commission and Scientific Advisory Subcommittee 
to the General Advisory Committee; Meeting Announcements

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting; consolidation of two meetings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS announces a consolidation of the public meeting of the 
Scientific Advisory Subcommittee (SAS) to the General Advisory 
Committee (GAC) scheduled on June 17, 2020, with the public meeting of 
the GAC to the U.S. Section to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna 
Commission (IATTC) scheduled on June 18, 2020. This newly consolidated 
SAS and GAC meeting will be held on June 18, 2020, via webinar. The 
meeting topics are described under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this notice.

DATES: The consolidated meeting of the SAS and GAC will be held on June 
18, 2020, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. PDT (or until business is 
concluded).

ADDRESSES: Please notify William Stahnke (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT) if you plan to attend the webinar. Instructions will be 
emailed to meeting participants before the meeting occurs.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Stahnke, West Coast Region, 
NMFS, at [email protected], or at (562) 980-4088.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 5, 2020, NMFS announced that it 
scheduled a public meeting of the SAS to the GAC on June 17, 2020, and 
a public meeting of the GAC to the U.S. Section to the IATTC on June 
18, 2020 (85 FR 12907). On May 19, 2020, NMFS announced a revision to 
the format of the public meetings of the SAS and the GAC, which would 
be held solely by webinar instead of in-person; additionally NMFS 
announced that the

[[Page 36563]]

U.S. Stakeholder conference call to discuss IATTC tropical tuna 
management in the eastern Pacific Ocean scheduled for May 22, 2020, was 
cancelled, and the content of that call would be included in the SAS 
and GAC webinars (85 FR 29931). However, due to the unexpected and 
recent postponement of the IATTC Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) 
Virtual Discussion scheduled for June 16, 2020, and the resulting delay 
of the release of information and recommendations, there will be 
limited information available to hold a standalone SAS meeting. 
Therefore, NMFS is consolidating the SAS and GAC meetings into one 
webinar on June 18, 2020. This consolidated meeting also includes the 
content of the cancelled U.S. Stakeholder conference call to discuss 
tropical tuna management in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
    In accordance with the Tuna Conventions Act (16 U.S.C. 951 et 
seq.), the U.S. Department of Commerce, in consultation with the 
Department of State (the State Department), appoints a GAC to the U.S. 
Section to the IATTC, and a SAS that advises the GAC. The U.S. Section 
consists of the four U.S. Commissioners to the IATTC and 
representatives of the State Department, NOAA, Department of Commerce, 
other U.S. Government agencies, and stakeholders. The GAC advises the 
U.S. Section with respect to U.S. participation in the work of the 
IATTC, focusing on the development of U.S. policies, positions, and 
negotiating tactics. The purpose of the SAS is to advise the GAC on 
scientific matters. NMFS West Coast Region staff provide administrative 
support for the GAC and SAS. The meetings of the GAC and SAS are open 
to the public, unless in executive session. The time and manner of 
public comment will be at the discretion of the Chairs for the GAC and 
SAS.
    Currently, the 95th meeting of the IATTC, the 41st Meeting of the 
Parties to the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation 
Program (AIDCP), and IATTC and AIDCP working group meetings are 
scheduled to be held, in whatever format, from October 26 to November 
6, 2020. However, these dates are subject to change. For more 
information and updates on these meetings, please visit the IATTC's 
website: https://www.iattc.org/MeetingsENG.htm.

SAS and GAC Meeting Topics

    In a memorandum from the IATTC Director to the IATTC Commissioners 
and Heads of Delegation on June 9, 2020 (Ref. No. 0287-410), the IATTC 
Director announced that the pre-recorded SAC presentations and the live 
SAC virtual discussion that were scheduled to occur on June 12 and June 
16, 2020, respectively, would be postponed until after the dates 
scheduled for the meetings of the SAS and GAC. As such, the 
consolidated SAS and GAC meeting will have a streamlined agenda.
    The meeting agenda will include, but is not limited to, the 
following topics:
    (1) Overview of the 2020 IATTC Meetings;
    (2) Outcomes of the 2020 stock assessments and stock status updates 
for tuna, tuna-like species, and other species caught in association 
with those fisheries in the eastern Pacific Ocean;
    (3) Evaluation of the IATTC Staff's Recommendations to the 
Commission for 2020;
    (4) Issues related to non-target species, such as sharks, seabirds, 
sea turtles;
    (5) Evaluation of U.S. priorities for the 95th meeting of the IATTC 
and priorities from other IATTC members;
    (6) Recommendations and evaluations by the SAS and GAC; and
    (7) Other issues as they arise.

Special Accommodations

    Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to William Stahnke (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT).

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

    Dated: June 12, 2020.
H[eacute]l[egrave]ne M.N. Scalliet,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-13073 Filed 6-12-20; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P