[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 2888]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00789]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC663]


North Pacific Albacore United States Stakeholder Meeting; 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 announces a U.S. stakeholder meeting open to the public 
to discuss North Pacific albacore (NPALB) management. This meeting is 
intended to prepare for potential discussions at the 2023 annual 
meetings of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) and 
Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission Northern Committee 
(WCPFC NC) on a harvest strategy for NPALB fisheries. The meeting 
topics are described under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 
this notice.

DATES: The virtual meeting will be held on February 15, 2023, from 11 
a.m. to 2 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time (or until business is concluded). 
You must complete the registration process by February 8, 2023, if you 
plan to attend the meeting (see ADDRESSES). Members of the public may 
submit written comments on meeting topics or materials to Valerie Post 
at [email protected] by February 8, 2023, and may also provide oral 
comments during the virtual meeting.

ADDRESSES: If you plan to attend the meeting, which will be held by 
webinar, please register at https://forms.gle/HmauFTcdHQZ1MHLs8. 
Instructions for attending the meeting will be emailed to meeting 
participants before the meeting occurs. This meeting may be audio 
recorded for the purposes of generating notes of the meeting. As public 
comments will be made publically available, participants and public 
commenters are urged not to provide personally identifiable information 
(PII) at this meeting. Participation in the meeting, in person, by web 
conference, or by telephone constitutes consent to the audio recording.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Valerie Post, Pacific Islands Regional 
Office at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2021, the International Scientific 
Committee on Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the North Pacific Ocean 
(ISC) completed a management strategy evaluation (MSE) on NPALB,\1\ and 
the ISC Albacore Working Group hosted a meeting among U.S. and Canadian 
stakeholders from March 22-25, 2021, to review the results of the MSE. 
As a follow-up to the ISC meeting in March 2021, NMFS hosted virtual 
meetings on June 1, 2021 and April 5, 2022, for U.S. stakeholders to 
express their priorities and consider future management of NPALB. 
Additionally, in 2022, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission 
(IATTC) and Western and Central Pacific Fishery Commission (WCPFC) 
adopted a harvest strategy for NPALB that indicated certain components 
(e.g., harvest control rules) would be addressed in 2023.\2\ The 
forthcoming February 15 meeting, is intended to follow up on the June 
2021 and April 2022 webinars, as well as to prepare for anticipated 
discussions at the IATTC and WCPFC Northern Committee (NC).
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    \1\ http://isc.fra.go.jp/working_groups/albacore.html.
    \2\ https://iattc.org/GetAttachment/9d1676e8-b2af-4f40-88c1-5c3f0f8594ea/C-22-04_North-Albacore-Harvest-Strategy.pdf and harvest 
strategies recently adopted by the WCPFC are expected to be 
available here: https://www.wcpfc.int/harvest-strategy.
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NPALB U.S. Stakeholder Meeting Topics

    The agenda will be distributed to participants in advance of the 
meeting. The meeting agenda will include a discussion on a harvest 
strategy for NPALB that may include, but is not limited to, harvest 
control rules, management procedures and exceptional circumstances.

Special Accommodations

    Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be indicated when registering for the meeting (see ADDRESSES) by 
February 8, 2023.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 951 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.; and 16 
U.S.C. 6901 et seq.

    Dated: January 11, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-00789 Filed 1-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P