E6-14311. North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice of a public committee meeting.

SUMMARY:

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Steller Sea Lion Mitigation Committee (SSLMC) will meet in Seattle, WA.

DATES:

The meeting will be held on September 12-14, 2006, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES:

The meeting will be held at the Alaska Fishery Science Center, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Building 4, Seattle, WA.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bill Wilson, North Pacific Fishery Management Council; telephone: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The main issues to be discussed by the SSLMC are the proposal ranking tool and the first chapters of the draft Biological Opinion. The Committee will complete work on development of the ranking tool and prepare a report for the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC).

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

These meetings are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Gail Bendixen, [phone], at least 5 working days prior to the meeting date.

Dated: August 24, 2006.

James P. Burgess,

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