[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]
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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.
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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]
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