Highly Migratory Species and Billfish Advisory Panels; Public Meeting

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D.012798B]

Highly Migratory Species and Billfish Advisory Panels; Public

Meeting

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) and Billfish

Advisory Panels (APs) will hold a joint meeting to discuss issues in,

and future management options for, the fisheries for Atlantic HMS.

DATES: The meeting will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on March

16, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on March 17, and from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00

p.m. on March 18, 1998. A public comment period is scheduled for

Tuesday, March 17, 1998, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the meeting

location.

ADDRESSES: The APs will meet at the Radisson Bay Harbor Inn, 7700

Courtney Campbell Causeway, Tampa, FL. Written comments should be

submitted to, and informational materials related to the AP meeting are

available from, Jill Stevenson, Highly Migratory Species Management

Division, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill Stevenson, telephone: (301) 713-

2347, fax: (301) 713-1917.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The HMS and Billfish APs have been

established under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. The APs will

assist the Secretary of Commerce in collecting and evaluating

information relevant to the development of a fishery management plan

(FMP) for Atlantic tunas, swordfish and sharks and an amendment to the

Billfish FMP. All AP meetings are open to the public and will be

attended by members of the AP, including appointed members,

representatives of the five Fishery Management Councils that work with

HMS, and the Chair, or his representative, of the U.S. Advisory

Committee to the International Commission for the Conservation of

Atlantic Tunas. A public comment period is scheduled for Tuesday, March

17, 1998 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the meeting location. Comments are

solicited on overfishing definitions and rebuilding analyses that will

be presented at the AP meeting on Tuesday. To request informational

materials related to the AP discussion or to submit public comments on

overfishing definitions and rebuilding analyses, see ADDRESSES. Agenda

items for the joint AP meeting include discussion of:

1. Objectives for the HMS FMP and Billfish FMP amendment;

2. Rebuilding scenarios for overfished stocks of Atlantic HMS;

3. Development of overfishing criteria and definitions for Atlantic

HMS;

4. Research and monitoring requirements in HMS fisheries;

5. Permitting and reporting requirements in HMS fisheries; and

6. Enforcement issues in HMS fisheries.

Special Accommodations

This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities.

Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids

should be directed to Jill Stevenson, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver

Spring, MD 20910, phone (301) 713-2347, at least 7 days prior to the

meeting date.

Dated: February 23, 1998.

Bruce Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine

Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98-5182 Filed 2-27-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-22-F