2014-17421. Permanent Advisory Committee to Advise the U.S. Commissioners to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission; Meeting Announcement

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY:

NMFS announces a meeting of the Permanent Advisory Committee (PAC) to advise the U.S. Commissioners to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) on October 6-October 7, 2014. Meeting topics are provided under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

DATES:

The meeting of the PAC will be held on October 6, 2014, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. HST (or until business is concluded) and October 7, 2014, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. HST (or until business is concluded).

ADDRESSES:

The meeting will be held at the Modern Hotel, Ballroom C, 1775 Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu, Hawaii 96815.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Emily Crigler, NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office; telephone: [phone]; facsimile: 808-725-5215; email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In accordance with the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (16 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), a Permanent Advisory Committee, or PAC, has been convened to advise the U.S. Commissioners to the WCPFC, certain members of which have been appointed by the Secretary of Commerce in consultation with the U.S. Commissioners to the WCPFC. The PAC supports the work of the U.S. National Section to the WCPFC in an advisory capacity. The U.S. National Section is made up of the U.S. Commissioners and the Department of State. NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office provides administrative and technical support to the PAC in cooperation with the Department of State. The next regular annual session of the WCPFC (WCPFC11) is scheduled for December 1-December 5, 2014, in Apia, Samoa. More information on this meeting and the WCPFC, established under the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, can be found on the WCPFC Web site: http://wcpfc.int/​.

Meeting Topics

The PAC meeting topics may include the following: (1) Outcomes of the 2013 Annual Meeting and 2014 sessions of the WCPFC Scientific Committee, Northern Committee, and Technical and Compliance Committee; (2) development of conservation and management measures for bigeye tuna, yellowfin tuna, skipjack tuna and other species for 2015 and beyond; (3) making the WCPFC compliance monitoring scheme a permanent measure and development of a companion measure addressing responses to non-compliance; (4) issues related to the impacts of fishing on non-target, associated and dependent species, such as sea turtles, marine mammals, seabirds and sharks (5) input and advice from the PAC on issues that may arise at WCPFC11; (6) potential proposals from other WCPFC members; and (7) other issues.

Special Accommodations

The meeting location is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Emily Crigler at [phone] by September 15, 2014.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 6902.

Dated: July 21, 2014.

Emily H. Menashes,

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