2020-17870. Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice of a public meeting.

SUMMARY:

The Groundfish Subcommittee of the Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council's) Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will hold an online meeting to plan a later methodology review of elasmobranch harvest control rules and management reference points. The meeting is open to the public.

DATES:

The SSC Groundfish Subcommittee online meeting will be held Wednesday, September 2, 2020 and will begin at 1:30 p.m. and continue until 3:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time or until business for the day has been completed.

ADDRESSES:

The SSC's Groundfish Subcommittee meeting will be held online. Specific meeting information, including directions on how to join the meeting and system requirements will be provided in the meeting announcement on the Pacific Council's website (see www.pcouncil.org). You may send an email to Mr. Kris Kleinschmidt ([e-mail]) or contact him at [phone] for technical assistance.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. John DeVore, Staff Officer, Pacific Fishery Management Council; telephone: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The purpose of the SSC Groundfish Subcommittee meeting is to plan for a later methodology review of harvest control rules (HCRs) and management reference points for managing West Coast elasmobranch species in the Pacific Council process. The SSC Groundfish Subcommittee will plan the timing of the subsequent methodology review and the analyses needed to evaluate HCRs and management reference points to be used in deciding elasmobranch harvest specifications beginning in 2023.

No management actions will be decided by the SSC's Groundfish Subcommittee. The SSC Groundfish Subcommittee members' role will be development of a plan for a subsequent methodology review of elasmobranch HCRs and management reference points and a report for consideration by the SSC and Pacific Council at their September and/or November 2020 meetings.

Although nonemergency issues not contained in the meeting agendas may be discussed, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during these meetings. Action 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 intent of the SSC Groundfish Subcommittee 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 Mr. Kris Kleinschmidt [phone] at least 10 days prior to the meeting date.

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

Dated: August 11, 2020.

Tracey L. Thompson,

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