IB 00-1: Draft National Plan of Action for the Reduction of Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries Available for Review

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has published a notice of availability and requests public comment on a draft National Plan of Action for the Reduction of Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries (NPOA-Seabirds), according to Steven Pennoyer, Administrator, Alaska Region. A notice announcing the availability of the NPOA-Seabirds and a public meeting to receive comments on the NPOA-Seabirds was published in the Federal Register on December 29, 1999 (64 FR 73017).

The United States, through a collaborative effort of NMFS and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, is developing the NPOA-Seabirds pursuant to the endorsement of the International Plan of Action for the Reduction of Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries by the United Nations Committee on Fisheries (COFI) meeting which was held in February 1999. The United States committed itself to developing this NPOA-Seabirds and reporting to COFI on its implementation no later than 2001.

The draft NPOA-Seabirds is available at the NMFS Headquarters website and (NOW FINAL) at the NMFS Alaska Region website here. A hard copy can be requested from: David Kerstetter, NOAA-NMFS/SF4, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone 301-713-2276, ext 107, or fax (301) 713-2313. Written comments on the NPOA-Seabirds may be submitted to this same address, no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on January 18, 2000. Comments will not be accepted via e-mail or internet.

The public meeting on the NPOA-Seabirds will be held at NOAA-NMFS Headquarters, 1315 East-West Highway, SSMC3 Room 14836, Silver Spring, MD 20910 at 3:00 p.m. EST on January 19, 2000.

To obtain additional information, consult the websites and the Notice of Availability referenced above or contact Kim Rivera, Protected Resources Division, NMFS, (907) 586-7424.