CONTACT: Gordon Helm FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3/4/97
Future use of the Individual Fishery Quota as a management tool in selected fisheries will be the focus of a study by the National Academy of Science's National Research Council, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today. NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service wants public input in the study, and is asking for advisory panel nominations.
The study on Individual Fishery Quotas (IFQs) by the National Research Council complies with provisions of the newly reauthorized Sustainable Fisheries Act as mandated by the U.S. Congress.
Nominations to fill two 15-member advisory panels will be accepted through March 24, 1997. One panel will serve as advisor for West Coast fisheries, the other for East Coast fisheries.
Panel members will serve as technical advisors to the NRC committee, dealing with any issues relating to IFQ implementation. Members may provide expert testimony at public hearings on IFQs, and may also be asked to help facilitate NOAA's public hearings by developing potential questions and guiding the discussions. Members will be expected to attend one public hearing or one public NRC meeting on IFQs but will not be asked to attend NRC committee meetings. There is no compensation for membership on an advisory panel, but the fisheries service will pay for the travel of each advisory panel member to one public hearing or one NRC public meeting on IFQs. Finally, the advisory panels will serve as an "information clearinghouse."
Interested members of the public should submit a statement of interest to the Director of the Office of Science and Technology, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD, 20910. The statement should include a description of the nominee's background and experience, particularly with respect to IFQs; current occupation and position; reasons for wanting to participate on an advisory panel; and a statement identifying why the nominee should be considered for membership. The fisheries service will announce the selection of advisory panel members no later than April 14, 1997.