[Federal Register: April 14, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 72)]
[Notices]
[Page 20028-20029]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14ap08-37]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XG98
International Whaling Commission; 60th Annual Meeting;
Announcement of Public Meeting
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the date, time, and location of the
public meeting being held prior to the 60th annual International
Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting.
DATES: The public meeting will be held May 7, 2008, at 1 p.m.
[[Page 20029]]
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in the NOAA Science Center Room,
1301 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cheri McCarty, 301-713-9090, Extension
183.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Secretary of Commerce is charged with
the responsibility of discharging the domestic obligations of the
United States under the International Convention for the Regulation of
Whaling, 1946. The U.S. Commissioner has responsibility for the
preparation and negotiation of U.S. positions on international issues
concerning whaling and for all matters involving the IWC. He is staffed
by the Department of Commerce and assisted by the Department of State,
the Department of the Interior, the Marine Mammal Commission, and by
other agencies.
Once the draft agenda for the annual IWC meeting is completed, it
will be posted on the IWC Secretariat's website at http://
www.iwcoffice.org.
Each year NOAA holds a meeting prior to the annual IWC meeting to
discuss the tentative U.S. positions for the upcoming IWC meeting.
Because the meeting discusses U.S. positions, the substance of the
meeting must be kept confidential. Any U.S. citizen with an
identifiable interest in U.S. whale conservation policy may
participate, but NOAA reserves the authority to inquire about the
interests of any person who appears at a meeting and to determine the
appropriateness of that person's participation.
Persons who represent foreign interests may not attend. These
stringent measures are necessary to protect the confidentiality of U.S.
negotiating positions and are a necessary basis for the relatively open
process of preparing for IWC meetings.
The meeting will be held at 1 p.m. at the NOAA Science Center Room,
1301 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Photo identification
is required to enter the building.
Special Accommodations
This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities.
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids
should be directed to Cheri McCarty, 301-713-9090 by April 25, 2008.
Dated: April 8, 2008.
Rebecca J. Lent,
Director, Office of International Affairs, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. E8-7901 Filed 4-11-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S