03-9793. North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY:

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Committee will hold a public meeting.

DATES:

The meeting will be held on May 5-6, 2003.

ADDRESSES:

The meeting will be held at NMFS Alaska Region, 709 W. 9th Street, Room 150, Juneau, AK.

Council address: North Pacific Fishery Management Council, 605 W. 4th Ave., Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 99501-2252.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cathy Coon, Council staff, telephone: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Committee will meeting from noon to 6 p.m. on Monday, May 5, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6. The Committee will continue working on a process for identifying and evaluating potential habitat areas of particular concern. Committee recommendations will be presented to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in June.

Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come before this group for discussion, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this meeting. Action will be restricted to those issues specifically identified 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.

Special Accommodations

This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Gail Bendixen at 907-271-2809 at least 7 working days prior to the meeting date.

Dated: April 15, 2003.

Matteo J. Milazzo,

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