[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 7, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64432-64433]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17448]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XE161]


Nominations for Advisory Committee and Species Working Group 
Technical Advisor Appointments to the U.S. Section to the International 
Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas

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

ACTION: Notice of request for nominations.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is soliciting nominations (which may include self-
nominations) to the Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section to the 
International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) 
as established by the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA). NMFS is 
also soliciting nominations for Technical Advisors to the Advisory 
Committee's species working groups.

DATES: Nominations must be received by September 13, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Nominations, including a letter of interest and a resume or 
curriculum vitae, should be sent via email to Bryan Keller at 
[email protected]. Include in the subject line whether the 
nomination is for a position as an Advisory Committee member or as a 
Technical Advisor to one of the Committee's species working groups.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Convention and the Commission

    ICCAT was established to provide an effective program of 
international cooperation in research and conservation in recognition 
of the unique problems related to the highly migratory nature of tunas 
and tuna-like species. The International Convention for the 
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (Convention), which established ICCAT, 
entered into force in 1969. ICCAT usually holds an Annual Meeting in 
November of each year, and convenes meetings of its working groups and 
other subsidiary bodies between annual meetings as needed. Under ATCA 
(see 16 U.S.C. 971a), the United States is represented at ICCAT by not 
more than three U.S. Commissioners. Additional information about ICCAT 
is available at www.iccat.int.

Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section to ICCAT and its Species Working 
Groups

    ATCA (see 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.) establishes an advisory committee 
comprising: (1) Not less than 5 nor more than 20 individuals appointed 
by the U.S. Commissioners to ICCAT who shall select such individuals 
from the various groups concerned with the fisheries covered by the 
ICCAT Convention; and (2) the chairs (or their designees) of the New 
England, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico 
Fishery Management Councils. Each member of the Advisory Committee 
shall serve for a term of 2 years and be eligible for reappointment. 
The Committee meets at least twice a year during which members receive 
information and provide advice on ICCAT-related matters. All members of 
the Advisory Committee are appointed in their individual professional 
capacity and undergo a background screening. Any individual appointed 
to the Committee who is unable to attend all or part of an Advisory 
Committee meeting may not appoint another person to attend such 
meetings as his or her proxy. Nominees should be able to fulfill the 
time and travel commitments required to participate in the Committee's 
annual spring and fall meetings, in addition to ad hoc meetings as 
necessary throughout the year. The annual spring and fall meetings are 
normally 2 days long and are usually held in Silver Spring, Maryland, 
or Miami, Florida.
    Members of the Advisory Committee receive no compensation for their 
services. The Secretary of Commerce

[[Page 64433]]

and the Secretary of State may pay the necessary travel expenses of 
members of the Advisory Committee. The terms of all currently appointed 
Advisory Committee members expire on December 31, 2024. NMFS is 
soliciting nominees to serve as members of the Advisory Committee for a 
term of 2 years that will begin January 1, 2025, and expire December 
31, 2026.
    ATCA specifies that the U.S. Commissioners may establish species 
working groups for the purpose of providing advice and recommendations 
to the U.S. Commissioners and to the Advisory Committee on matters 
relating to the conservation and management of any highly migratory 
species covered by the ICCAT Convention (see 16 U.S.C. 971b-1). Any 
species working group shall consist of no more than seven members of 
the Advisory Committee and no more than four scientific or technical 
personnel, as considered necessary by the Commissioners. Currently, 
there are four species working groups advising the Committee and the 
U.S. Commissioners: a Bluefin Tuna and Albacore Working Group, a 
Swordfish/Sharks Working Group, a Billfish Working Group, and a Bigeye, 
Yellowfin, and Skipjack Tunas Working Group. Scientific or technical 
personnel (known as Technical Advisors) appointed to species working 
groups serve at the pleasure of the Commissioners; therefore, the 
Commissioners can choose to alter these appointments at any time. As 
with Committee Members, Technical Advisors may not be represented by a 
proxy during meetings of the Advisory Committee. Nominees should be 
able to fulfill the time and travel commitments required to participate 
in the annual spring meeting of the Advisory Committee, when the 
species working groups are convened, in addition to ad hoc meetings 
throughout the year, as appropriate.

Procedure for Submitting Nominations

    Nominations to either the Advisory Committee or a species working 
group should include a letter of interest and a resume or curriculum 
vitae that describes the individual's knowledge and experience in a 
field related to the highly migratory species covered by the ICCAT 
Convention. Self-nominations are acceptable. Letters of recommendation 
are useful but not required. When making a nomination, please specify 
which appointment (Advisory Committee member or Technical Advisor to a 
species working group) is being sought. Nominees are also encouraged to 
indicate which of the four species working groups is preferred, 
although placement on the requested group is not guaranteed.
    NMFS encourages nominations for women and for individuals from 
underserved communities that meet the knowledge, experience, and other 
requirements of the positions described in this notice. See Executive 
Order (E.O.) 13985 (Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved 
Communities Through the Federal Government) section 2 (defining 
``underserved communities'' as populations sharing a particular 
characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have been 
systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of 
economic, social, and civic life, such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous 
and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and 
other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, 
bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with 
disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise 
adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.). E.O. 13985 is 
available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01753/advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government.

    Dated: August 2, 2024.
Alexa Cole,
Director, Office of International Affairs, Trade, and Commerce, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-17448 Filed 8-6-24; 8:45 am]
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