E5-1570. 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 Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Highly Migratory Species Management Team (HMSMT) will hold a work session, which is open to the public.

DATES:

The work session will be Thursday, May 12, 2005, from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. and Friday, May 13, 2005, from 9 a.m. until business for the day is completed.

ADDRESSES:

The work session will be held at the National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Large Conference Room, 8604 La Jolla Shores Drive, Room D-203, La Jolla, CA 92037, [phone]

Council address: Pacific Fishery Management Council, 7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97220-1384.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dr. Kit Dahl, Pacific Fishery Management Council [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The main purpose of this work session is for the HMSMT to review issues related to the implementation of the HMS fishery management plan and make recommendations to the Council on future action on these issues. Issues discussed could include the Council's response to overfishing of bigeye tuna and other HMS so declared in the future, developing sea turtle bycatch mitigation measures for the West Coast high seas longline fishery, establishing a limited entry program for the West Coast high seas longline fishery, implementation of an observer coverage plan, and review of exempted fishing permits, among others. This HMSMT work session is for the purpose of developing information for the Council's consideration at a future Council meeting; no management actions will be decided by the HMSMT at this work session.

Although nonemergency issues not contained in the meeting agenda may be discussed, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this meeting. Action will be restricted to those issues specifically listed in this document and any issues arising after publication of this document 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 intent to take final action to address the emergency.

Special Accommodations

The meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Ms. Carolyn Porter at [phone] at least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

Dated: April 1, 2005.

Emily Menashes,

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