NOAA Fisheries will hold a meeting of the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Advisory Panel on September 5-6, 2018, at the Sheraton Silver Spring Hotel, 8777 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910. The meeting and will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, September 5, and from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 6.
The meeting will also be accessible by conference call and webinar.
Participants are strongly encouraged to log/dial-in 15 minutes prior to the meeting. NOAA Fisheries will allow public comment during identified times on the agenda.
The intent of this meeting is to consider alternatives for the conservation and management of all Atlantic tunas, swordfish, billfish, and shark fisheries.
We anticipate discussing short- and long-term management of Atlantic shortfin mako (emergency rule extension and Draft Amendment 11), bluefin tuna management (Three-year review of Amendment 7 measures and next steps); progress updates on a number of other actions such as Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management, Amendment 12 (rulemaking to implement national policy directives), weak-hook and area-based management, cross-regional vessel electronic reporting, and spatial management options; and shark management in general (Amendment 14 regarding quota management; catch-per–unit-effort for sharks; and shark stock assessments)
We also anticipate inviting other NOAA Fisheries offices to provide updates on their activities relevant to HMS fisheries, such as updates to the Marine Recreational Information Program. The U.S. Department of State will be invited to provide updates on U.S./Bahama EEZ boundary negotiations. Finally, we intend to invite other NOAA Fisheries offices and the United States Coast Guard to provide updates on their activities relevant to HMS fisheries.
Additional information on the meeting and the draft agenda will be posted to our website when they are available.
Official notice of federal fishery actions is made through filing such notice with the Office of the Federal Register. For more information related to Atlantic HMS Management, please call (301) 427-8503 or visit the HMS web page.
