2016-31326. Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings and Hearings

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice of availability of reports; public meetings, and hearings.

SUMMARY:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) has begun its annual preseason management process for the 2017 ocean salmon fisheries. This document announces the availability of Pacific Council documents as well as the dates and locations of Pacific Council meetings and public hearings comprising the Pacific Council's complete schedule of events for determining the annual proposed and final modifications to ocean salmon fishery management measures. The agendas for the March and April 2017 Pacific Council meetings will be published in subsequent Federal Register documents prior to the actual meetings.

DATES:

Written comments on the salmon management alternatives must be received by 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, March 31, 2017.

ADDRESSES:

Documents will be available from, and written comments should be sent to Mr. Herb Pollard, Chair, Pacific Fishery Management Council, 7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 101, Portland, OR 97220-1384, telephone: [phone] (voice) or [phone] (fax). Comments can also be submitted via email at [e-mail] or through the internet at the Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments, and include the I.D. number in the subject line of the message. For specific meeting and hearing locations, see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

Council address: Pacific Fishery Management Council, 7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 101, Portland, OR 97220.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ms. Robin Ehlke, telephone: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Tentative Schedule for Document Completion and Availability

February 17, 2017: “Review of 2016 Ocean Salmon Fisheries, Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Document for the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan” is scheduled to be posted on the Pacific Council Web site at http://www.pcouncil.org.

March 3, 2017: “Preseason Report I—Stock Abundance Analysis and Environmental Assessment Part 1 for 2017 Ocean Salmon Fishery Regulations” is scheduled to be posted on the Pacific Council Web site at http://www.pcouncil.org.

March 22, 2017: “Preseason Report II—Proposed Alternatives and Environmental Assessment Part 2 for 2017 Ocean Salmon Fishery Regulations” and public hearing schedule is scheduled to be posted on the Pacific Council Web site at http://www.pcouncil.org. The report will include a description of the adopted salmon management alternatives and a summary of their biological and economic impacts.

April 21, 2017: “Preseason Report III—Council-Adopted Management Measures and Environmental Assessment Part 3 for 2017 Ocean Salmon Fishery Regulations” scheduled to be posted on the Pacific Council Web site at http://www.pcouncil.org.

May 1, 2016: Federal regulations for 2017 ocean salmon regulations will be published in the Federal Register and implemented.

Meetings and Hearings

January 17-20, 2017: The Salmon Technical Team (STT) will meet at the Pacific Council office in a public work session to draft “Review of 2016 Ocean Salmon Fisheries” and to consider any other estimation or methodology issues pertinent to the 2017 ocean salmon fisheries.

February 21-24, 2017: The STT will meet at the Pacific Council office in a public work session to draft “Preseason Report I—Stock Abundance Analysis and Environmental Assessment Part 1 for 2017 Ocean Salmon Fishery Regulations” and to consider any other estimation or methodology issues pertinent to the 2017 ocean salmon fisheries.

March 27-28, 2017: Public hearings will be held to receive comments on the proposed ocean salmon fishery management alternatives adopted by the Pacific Council. Written comments received at the public hearings and a summary of oral comments at the hearings will be provided to the Pacific Council at its April meeting.

All public hearings begin at 7 p.m. at the following locations:

March 27, 2017: Chateau Westport, Beach Room, 710 West Hancock, Westport, WA 98595, telephone: [phone].

March 27, 2017: Red Lion Hotel, South Umpqua Room, 1313 North Bayshore Drive, Coos Bay, OR 97420, telephone: [phone].

March 28, 2017: City of Fort Bragg. Town Hall, 363 N. Main Street, Fort Bragg, CA 95437, telephone: [phone].

Although nonemergency issues not contained in the STT meeting agendas may come before the STT for discussion, those issues may not be the subject of formal STT action during these meetings. STT action will be restricted to those issues specifically listed in this document and to any issues arising after publication of this document requiring emergency action under Section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, provided the public has been notified of the STT's intent to take final action to address the emergency.

Special Accommodations

These public meetings and hearings are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Mr. Kris Kleinschmidt at [phone] (voice), or [phone] (fax) at least 10 business days prior to the meeting date.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

Dated: December 22, 2016.

Tracey L. Thompson,

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.