2020-18183. 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 public meeting of the Permanent Advisory Committee (PAC) to advise the U.S. Commissioners to the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC) on October 14-16, 2020. Meeting topics are provided under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

DATES:

The meeting of the PAC will be held on October 14, 2020, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time (HST) (or until business is concluded), October 15, 2020, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. HST (or until business is concluded), and October 16, 2020, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. HST (or until business is concluded).

ADDRESSES:

The public meeting will be conducted via a web conference. Documents to be considered by the PAC will be sent out via email in advance of the conference call. Members of the public may submit written comments on meeting topics or materials; comments must be received by October 9, 2020. For details on how to call in to the conference line, to receive documents via email, or to submit comments, please contact Emily Reynolds, NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail], at least 3 days in advance of the call. This meeting may be recorded for the purposes of generating notes of the meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Emily Reynolds, NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office; 1845 Wasp Blvd., Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818; 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.), the Permanent Advisory Committee, or PAC, has been formed to advise the U.S. Commissioners to the WCPFC. The PAC is composed of: (i) Not less than 15 nor more than 20 individuals appointed by the Secretary of Commerce in consultation with the U.S. Commissioners to the WCPFC; (ii) the chair of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council's Advisory Committee (or the chair's designee); and (iii) officials from the fisheries management authorities of American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands (or their designees). 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. More information on 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 website: http://www.wcpfc.int.

Meeting Topics

The PAC meeting topics may include the following: (1) Outcomes of the 2019 annual meeting of the WCPFC and 2020 sessions of the WCPFC Scientific Committee, Northern Committee, and Technical and Compliance Committee; (2) issues to be considered in WCPFC 2020 annual meeting; (3) potential U.S. proposals to the WCPFC 2020 annual meeting; and (4) other issues.

Special Accommodations

The conference call is accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Emily Reynolds at 808-725-5039 by September 12, 2020.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 6902 et seq.

Dated: August 14, 2020.

Kelly Denit,

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