[Federal Register: October 13, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 198)]
[Notices]               
[Page 60479-60480]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13oc06-33]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 100606B]

 
Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting/Workshop

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting.

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SUMMARY: NMFS and the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will 
hold a workshop to discuss the incorporation of data from the Northwest 
Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) West Coast groundfish bottom trawl 
survey (conducted on the shelf and slope) into groundfish stock 
assessments, particularly those that will be conducted in 2007.

DATES: The NWFSC Bottom Trawl Survey workshop will be held Tuesday, 
October 31, 2006 through Thursday, November 2, 2006. The workshop will 
start at 9 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, or as 
necessary to complete business. The workshop will adjourn at noon on 
Thursday, November 2, 2006.

ADDRESSES: The NWFSC Bottom Trawl Survey workshop will be held at the 
NOAA Western Regional Center (WRC), 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Building 9, 
Conference Room, Seattle, WA 98115.
    Council address: Pacific Fishery Management Council, 7700 NE 
Ambassador Place, Suite 101, Portland, OR 97220-1384.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Stacey Miller, NWFSC; telephone: 
(206) 860-3480; or Mr. John DeVore, Pacific Fishery Management Council; 
telephone: (503) 820-2280.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Primary objectives of the workshop include: 
(1) Review survey protocols and data collected by the NWFSC West Coast 
groundfish bottom trawl surveys; (2) evaluate methods for including 
bottom trawl survey time series in stock

[[Page 60480]]

assessments; (3) evaluate whether recent data from the NWFSC West Coast 
groundfish bottom trawl survey conducted on the shelf and slope should 
be included in update assessments only if they can be treated as a new 
time series, or whether the new data can be used to extend time series 
included in previous assessment models; and (4) compare biomass and 
variance estimates generated using a design-based swept area approach 
and model-based (Generalized Linear Mixed Models) approach.
    All participants are encouraged to pre-register for the workshop by 
contacting Ms. Stacey Miller, NWFSC by phone at (206) 860-3480 or by 
email at Stacey.Miller@noaa.gov.
    Although non-emergency issues not contained in the meeting agenda 
may come before the workshop participants for discussion, those issues 
may not be the subject of formal workshop action during this meeting. 
Workshop action will be restricted to those issues specifically listed 
in this notice and any issues arising after publication of this notice 
that require emergency action under Section 305c of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, provided the public 
has been notified of the workshop participants' intent to take final 
action to address the emergency.

Special Accommodations

    This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Ms. Carolyn Porter at (503) 820-2280 at least 5 
days prior to the meeting date.
    Pre-registration for the workshop will expedite entry to the NOAA 
WRC. All WRC visitors will be required to show a valid picture ID and 
register with security every morning. A visitor's badge, which must be 
worn while at the NOAA Facility, will be issued to non-Federal 
employees participating in the meeting.

    Dated: October 10, 2006.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-16988 Filed 10-12-06; 8:45 am]

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