From the National Marine Fisheries Service
1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, Md. 20910

Media Contact: Gordon Helm - (301) 713-2370

Attention Los Angeles News Media:

                    PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSAL TO BAN
                  UNDERSIZED ATLANTIC SWORDFISH IMPORTS

Interested members of the public are invited to attend a public hearing on a proposal to ban the import of undersized Atlantic swordfish, extend dealer permitting and reporting requirements to swordfish importers, and implement a Certificate of Eligibility program to aid in import tracking. The measures are necessary to control the harvest of undersized Atlantic swordfish, to improve information collection on the trade in Atlantic swordfish, and to assist Atlantic swordfish conservation by the United States and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (the international body that manages Atlantic highly migratory species).

The National Marine Fisheries Service, within NOAA - the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - is conducting the hearing on Thursday, Nov. 19, 1998, from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. at the Glen M. Anderson Federal Building, 501 W. Ocean Avenue, Long Beach, Calif. 90802.

Written comments on the proposed rule must be submitted by Dec. 7, 1998. A copy of the proposed rule and supporting Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact review can be obtained from Steve Meyers or Jill Stevenson at the Fisheries Service's Highly Migratory Species Management Division