[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 178 (Friday, September 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63553-63554]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20033]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XD364]


North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings

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

ACTION: Notice of public meetings of the North Pacific Fishery 
Management Council and its advisory committees. The meetings will be 
held via hybrid conference.

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SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its 
advisory committees will meet October 2, 2023, through October 10, 
2023.

DATES: The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will 
begin at 8 a.m. in the Aleutian room on Monday, October 2, 2023, and 
continue through Wednesday, October 4, 2023. The Council's Advisory 
Panel (AP) will begin at 8 a.m. in the Dilingham/Katmai room on 
Tuesday, October 3, 2023, and continue through Saturday, October 7, 
2023. The Council will begin at 8 a.m. in the Aleutian room on 
Thursday, October 5, 2023, and continue through Tuesday, October 10, 
2023. The Enforcement Trawl Performance Workshop will meet Monday, 
October 2, 2023, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the North Pacific Fishery 
Management Council's Conference Room; 1007 W 3rd Ave., Suite 400, 
Anchorage, AK 99501-2252. All times listed are Alaska time.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be a hybrid conference. The in-person 
component of the meeting will be held at the Hilton Hotel, 500 W 3rd 
Ave., Anchorage, AK 99501, or join the meeting online through the links 
at https://www.npfmc.org/current-or-next-council-meeting/.
    Council address: North Pacific Fishery Management Council, 1007 W 
3rd Ave., Suite 400, Anchorage, AK 99501-2252; telephone: (907) 271-
2809. Instructions for attending the meeting via web conference are 
given under Connection Information, below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diana Evans, Council staff; email: 
[email protected]; telephone: (907) 271-2809. For technical support, 
please contact our Council administrative staff, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Agenda

Monday, October 2, 2023, Through Wednesday, October 4, 2023

    The SSC agenda will include the following issues:
    (1) Administrative Issues including Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) 
funding proposal.
    (2) BSAI Crab Specifications--review Stock Assessment and Fishery 
Evaluation (SAFE) report; adopt Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC)/Over 
Fishing Limits (OFLs) for Bristol Bay red king crab (BBRKC), Tanner 
crab, snow crab, Pribilof Island blue king crab (PIBKC); Ecosystem 
Status Report; BSAI Crab Plan Team Report.
    (3) BSAI/Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Groundfish--Proposed specifications; 
Plan Team reports.
    (4) Chum Salmon bycatch--preliminary review.
    (5) BSAI Crab Program Review--review workplan.
    (6) Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program Review--review workplan.
    The agenda is subject to change, and the latest version will be 
posted at https://meetings.npfmc.org/Meeting/Details/3004 prior to the 
meeting, along with meeting materials.
    In addition to providing ongoing scientific advice for fishery 
management decisions, the SSC functions as the Council's primary peer 
review panel for scientific information, as described by the Magnuson-
Stevens Act section 302(g)(1)(e), and the National Standard 2 
guidelines (78 FR 43066). The peer-review process is also deemed to 
satisfy the requirements of the Information Quality Act, including the 
OMB Peer Review Bulletin guidelines.

Monday, October 2, 2023

    Trawl Gear Performance Standard Workshop agenda:
    The NPFMC will host a workshop to engage with stakeholders and 
fishery participants on ways to revise the trawl gear performance 
standard so that it is clear, enforceable, and meets Council 
objectives. The trawl performance standard regulation prohibits the 
presence of 20 or more crab above a threshold size limit, at any time, 
while directed fishing for pollock using pelagic trawl gear. Variations 
of the performance standard apply in both the BSAI and GOA. The agenda 
is subject to change, and the latest version will be posted at https://meetings.npfmc.org/Meeting/Details/1885 prior to the meeting, along 
with meeting materials.

Tuesday, October 3, 2023, Through Saturday, October 7, 2023

    The Advisory Panel agenda will include the following issues:

[[Page 63554]]

    (1) Administrative Issues.
    (2) Observer 2024 Annual Deployment Plan; PCFMAC report.
    (3) Crab Facility Use Caps--Initial Review.
    (4) BSAI Crab Specifications--review SAFE report; adopt ABC/OFLs 
for BBRKC, Tanner crab, snow crab, PIBKC; BSAI Crab Plan Team Report.
    (5) BSAI/GOA Groundfish--Proposed specifications; Plan Team 
reports; GOA Demersal Shelf Rockfish (DSR)/other rockfish spatial 
management.
    (6) Chum Salmon bycatch--preliminary review.
    (7) Area 4 Vessel Use Caps--Initial Review (tentative).
    (8) Bering Sea Local Knowledge/Traditional Knowledge/Subsistence 
Information Protocol and Onramps--final action to approve protocol and 
onramps.
    (9) BSAI Crab Program Review--review workplan.
    (10) IFQ Program Review--review workplan.
    (11) Staff Tasking.

Thursday, October 5, 2023, Through Tuesday, October 10, 2023

    The Council agenda will include the following issues. The Council 
may take appropriate action on any of the issues identified.
    (1) B Reports (Executive Director including IRA funding proposal, 
NMFS Management including Salmon FMP Secretarial amendment and update 
on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) changes, NOAA General 
Counsel (GC), Alaska Fishery Science Center (AFSC), Alaska Department 
of Fish and Game (ADF&G), United States Coast Guard (USCG), United 
States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), North Pacific Fisheries 
Commission, North Pacific Research Board, Advisory Panel, SSC report).
    (2) BSAI Crab Specifications--review SAFE report; adopt ABC/OFLs 
for BBRKC, Tanner crab, snow crab, PIBKC; BSAI Crab Plan Team Report.
    (3) Observer 2024 Annual Deployment Plan; PCFMAC report.
    (4) BSAI/GOA Groundfish--Proposed specifications; Plan Team 
reports; GOA Demersal Shelf Rockfish (DSR)/other rockfish spatial 
management.
    (5) Chum Salmon bycatch--preliminary review.
    (6) Area 4 Vessel Use Caps--Initial Review (tentative).
    (7) Crab Facility Use Caps--Initial Review.
    (8) Bering Sea Local Knowledge/Traditional Knowledge/Subsistence 
Information Protocol and Onramps--final action to approve protocol and 
onramps.
    (9) BSAI Crab Program Review--review workplan.
    (10) IFQ Program Review--review workplan.
    (11) Staff Tasking.

Connection Information

    You can attend the meeting online using a computer, tablet, or 
smart phone; or by phone only. Connection information will be posted 
online at: https://www.npfmc.org/upcoming-council-meetings. For 
technical support, please contact our administrative staff, email: 
[email protected].
    If you are attending the meeting in-person, please refer to the 
COVID avoidance protocols on our website, https://www.npfmc.org/current-or-next-council-meeting/.

Public Comment

    Public comment letters will be accepted and should be submitted 
electronically through the links at https://www.npfmc.org/current-or-next-council-meeting/. The Council strongly encourages written public 
comment for this meeting, to avoid any potential for technical 
difficulties to compromise oral testimony. The written comment period 
is open from September 8, 2023, to September 29, 2023, and closes at 12 
p.m. Alaska time on Friday, September 29, 2023.
    Although other non-emergency issues not on the agenda may come 
before this group for discussion, those issues may not be the subject 
of formal action during these meetings. Actions will be restricted to 
those issues specifically listed in this notice and any issues arising 
after publication of this notice that require emergency action under 
section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council's 
intent to take final action to address the emergency.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: September 12, 2023.
Diane M. DeJames-Daly,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-20033 Filed 9-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P