2024-02217. 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 (Pacific Council) will convene a Stock Assessment Review (STAR) Panel meeting to review the 2024 Pacific sardine stock assessment. The meeting will be co-hosted by the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center.

DATES:

The meeting will be held Wednesday, February 21 through Friday, February 23, 2024. The meeting will begin each day at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Standard Time and will continue until 5 p.m. or until business for the day has been completed.

ADDRESSES:

This meeting will be held in person at the Pacific Room of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center at 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037. The meeting will be broadcast with opportunity for remote public comment. Specific meeting information and materials will be provided in the meeting announcement on the Pacific Council's website (see www.pcouncil.org).

Council address: Pacific Fishery Management Council, 7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 101, Portland, OR 97220–1384.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jessi Doerpinghaus, Staff Officer, Pacific Council, telephone: [phone]; Dr. Annie Yau, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, email: [e-mail]; telephone: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The primary purpose of the meeting is to provide a technical review of the Pacific sardine stock assessment. The review panel will consist of at least three members of the Pacific Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee's Subcommittee on Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) and at least one independent expert from the Center for Independent Experts. Representatives of the Pacific Council's CPS Management Team and the CPS Advisory Subpanel will also participate in the review as advisers.

Although non-emergency 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

Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Dr. Annie Yau ( [e-mail]; (858) 546–7170) at least 10 days prior to the meeting date.

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

Dated: January 31, 2024.

Rey Israel Marquez,

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