[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 178 (Friday, September 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74924-74926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20823]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0048-XE284]


North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings

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

ACTION: Notice of hybrid conference.

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SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its 
advisory committees will meet September 30, 2024 through October 8, 
2024.

DATES: The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will 
begin at 8 a.m. on Monday, September 30, 2024, and continue through 
Wednesday, October 2, 2024. The Council's Advisory Panel (AP) will 
begin at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, and continue through 
Friday, October 4, 2024. The Council will begin at 8 a.m. on Thursday, 
October 3, 2024, and continue through Tuesday, October 8, 2024. The 
Legislative Committee will meet Wednesday, October 2, 2024, 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 Egan Center, 555 W 5th 
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, September 30, 2024 Through Wednesday, October 2, 2024

    The SSC agenda will include the following issues:

1. Administrative Issues
2. Bering Sea Aleutian Islands (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, St. Matthew Blue King Crab 
(SMBKC); Ecosystem Status Report; BSAI Crab Plan Team Report

[[Page 74925]]

3. Groundfish harvest specifications: (a) BSAI Groundfish--Proposed 
specifications, Joint and BSAI Plan Team reports; (b) Gulf of Alaska 
(GOA) Groundfish--Proposed specifications, GOA Plan Team report; (c) 
Ecological and Socioeconomic Profile (ESP) updates for sablefish
4. Crew data collection--Initial review
5. Climate funding: review: (a) Climate Scenario Workshop Report, (b) 
Climate science and harvest specifications adjustments discussion 
paper/SCS8 report
6. IFQ Program Review Report--review (T)
7. AFSC Report (T)

    The agenda is subject to change, and the latest version will be 
posted at https://meetings.npfmc.org/Meeting/Details/3054 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.

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

    Legislative Committee Agenda:
    The Legislative Committee agenda will include approval of a terms 
of reference, a review of recently introduced federal legislation 
regarding fisheries management, and an evaluation of potential impacts 
of legislation on the Council's ability to perform the functions 
specified in its grant, fulfill its responsibilities under the MSA, or 
affect the Council's ability to conserve and manage marine resources 
and resource users. The agenda is subject to change, and the latest 
version will be posted at https://meetings.npfmc.org/Meeting/Details/3052 prior to the meeting, along with meeting materials.

Tuesday, October 1, 2024 Through Friday, October 4, 2024

    The Advisory Panel agenda will include the following issues:

1. Administrative Issues
2. Crew data collection--Initial review
3. BSAI Crab Specifications--review SAFE report; adopt ABC/OFLs for 
BBRKC, Tanner crab, snow crab, SMBKC; Ecosystem Status Report; BSAI 
Crab Plan Team Report
4. Pelagic trawl gear definition--Initial review
5. Observer 2025 Annual Deployment Plan--Review; Partial Coverage 
Fishery Monitoring Advisory Committee (PCFMAC) report
6. Observer availability discussion paper--review, Fishery Monitoring 
Advisory Committee (FMAC) report
7. Groundfish harvest specifications: (a) BSAI Groundfish--Proposed 
specifications, Joint and BSAI Plan Team reports; (b) GOA Groundfish--
Proposed specifications, GOA Plan Team report; (c) Discard Mortality 
Rate (DMR) Working Group report on marine mammal interactions; (d) GOA 
rockfish spatial management--Discussion
8. Climate funding: review (a) Climate Scenario Workshop Report, (b) 
Climate science and harvest specifications adjustments discussion 
paper/SCS8 report BSAI Crab Program Review--review workplan
9. Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program Review Report--review, IFQ 
Committee report
10. Staff Tasking

Thursday, October 3, 2024 Through Tuesday, October 8, 2024

    The Council agenda will include the following issues. The Council 
may take appropriate action on any of the issues identified.

1. Swear in new members, election of officers
2. B Reports (Executive Director including Legislative Committee 
report, NMFS Management (including consultation on an exempted fishing 
permit for adjusting the pelagic trawl footrope), 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), Advisory Panel, SSC report)
3. BSAI Crab Specifications--review SAFE report; adopt ABC/OFLs for 
BBRKC, Tanner crab, snow crab, SMBKC; Ecosystem Status Report; BSAI 
Crab Plan Team Report
4. Recreational Quota Entity implementation--approve proposed 
modifications to fee collection process
5. Groundfish harvest specifications: (a) BSAI Groundfish--Proposed 
specifications, Joint and BSAI Plan Team reports; (b) GOA Groundfish--
Proposed specifications, GOA Plan Team report; (c) DMR Working Group 
report on marine mammal interactions; (d) GOA rockfish spatial 
management--Discussion paper
6. Observer 2025 Annual Deployment Plan--Review; PCFMAC report
7. Observer availability discussion paper--review, FMAC report
8. C5 Crew data collection--Initial review
9. Pelagic trawl gear definition--Initial review
10. Climate funding: review (a) Climate Scenario Workshop Report, (b) 
Climate science and harvest specifications adjustments discussion 
paper/SCS8 report
11. IFQ Program Review Report--review, IFQ Committee report
12. Staff Tasking (including programmatic/chum bycatch engagement 
discussion)

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 9, 2024 to September 27, 2024, and closes at 12 
p.m. Alaska Time on Friday, September 27, 2024.
    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.


[[Page 74926]]


    Dated: September 10, 2024.
Rey Israel Marquez,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-20823 Filed 9-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P