[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 9, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53869-53870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17075]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XD235]


Advisory Committee Open Session on Management Strategy Evaluation 
for North Atlantic Swordfish

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

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is holding a public meeting via webinar session for the 
Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section to the International Commission 
for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and all interested 
stakeholders to receive an update and provide input on the development 
of the management strategy evaluation (MSE) for North Atlantic 
swordfish.

DATES: A virtual meeting that is open to the public will be held by 
webinar session on August 24, 2023, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. EDT.

ADDRESSES: Please register to attend the meeting at: https://forms.gle/QbymT8n4mYm7SP3S9. Registration will close on August 22, 2023, at 5 
p.m. EDT. Instructions for accessing the webinar session will be 
emailed to registered participants.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bryan Keller, Office of International 
Affairs, Trade, and Commerce at (301) 427-7725 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: MSE is a process that allows fishery 
managers and stakeholders (e.g., industry, scientists, and non-
governmental organizations) to assess how well different strategies 
achieve specified management objectives for a fishery. ICCAT expects to 
finalize its North Atlantic swordfish MSE in 2023 and anticipates 
adopting a management procedure in November 2023 to set the total 
allowable catch for 2024 and future years for the stock. NMFS, and the 
U.S. Government more broadly, engages in this MSE development, an 
important part of which involves considering stakeholder input 
throughout the process through various means, including consultation 
with the Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section to ICCAT. The United 
States is also participating in the development of the North Atlantic 
swordfish MSE through the active involvement of U.S. scientists in the 
scientific work carried out by ICCAT's Standing Committee on Research 
and Statistics (SCRS).
    The August 24 meeting is intended to update U.S. stakeholders and 
solicit their input on the MSE approach being developed by ICCAT for 
North Atlantic swordfish. NMFS will provide information on the progress 
of the SCRS in developing initial candidate management procedures 
(CMPs) and testing them based on the initial input on management 
objectives and other relevant matters provided by ICCAT's Panel 4. CMPs 
illustrate tradeoffs associated with achieving identified management 
objectives related to stock status, stock safety, yield, and catch 
stability over time. CMP testing assists

[[Page 53870]]

ICCAT in refining management objectives and narrowing the number of 
viable CMPs for possible adoption by the Commission. This open session 
Advisory Committee meeting is primarily informational in nature and is 
intended to increase the opportunity for stakeholder awareness and 
input on the North Atlantic swordfish MSE process. Discussions at the 
meeting will help inform U.S. scientists who are participating in the 
work of the SCRS as well as U.S. managers participating in relevant 
Commission-related meetings later in 2023 addressing the North Atlantic 
swordfish MSE.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: August 4, 2023.
Alexa Cole,
Director, Office of International Affairs, Trade, and Commerce, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-17075 Filed 8-8-23; 8:45 am]
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