Permanent Advisory Committee To Advise the U.S. Commissioners to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission; Meeting Announcement
NMFS announces a public meeting of the Permanent Advisory Committee (PAC) to advise the U.S. Commissioners to the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migrat...
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION:
Notice of public meeting.
SUMMARY:
NMFS announces a public meeting of the Permanent Advisory Committee (PAC) to advise the U.S. Commissioners to the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC) on October 5 and 6, 2026. Meeting topics are provided under the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this notice.
DATES:
The meeting of the PAC will be held on October 5 and 6, 2026 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time (or until business is concluded). Members of the public may submit written comments on meeting topics or materials, at least 2 weeks before the meeting (submission by September 20, 2026), to be part of meeting materials and to be reviewed by PAC members and U.S. Commissioners ahead of the meeting; public comment is also accepted during the meeting. An Executive Session, closed to the public, may be called during the PAC meeting if confidential subject matter arises or is requested by the PAC. Confidential matters can include U.S. negotiating positions, strategy, litigation, and internal operational issues related to international meetings. A placeholder for an Executive Session is on the agenda to accommodate this possibility.
ADDRESSES:
The public meeting will be held in Honolulu, HI and will also be broadcasted via web conference. For details on how to attend the meeting in-person or virtually and how to submit comments, please contact Katrina Poremba, NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office, email:
pir.wcpfc@noaa.gov,
at least 5 days in advance of the meeting to receive documents via email. This meeting may be audio recorded for the purposes of generating notes of the meeting. As public comments will be made publicly available, participants and public commenters are urged not to provide personally identifiable information at
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this meeting. Participation in the meeting, in person, by web conference, or by telephone constitutes consent to the audio recording.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Katrina Poremba, NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office; 1845 Wasp Blvd., Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818; telephone: 808-725-5096; email:
pir.wcpfc@noaa.gov
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
In accordance with the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (16 U.S.C. 6901et seq.), the PAC has been formed to advise the U.S. Commissioners to the WCPFC. The PAC is composed of: (i) not less than 15 nor more than 20 individuals appointed by the Secretary of Commerce in consultation with the U.S. Commissioners to the WCPFC; (ii) the chair of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council's Advisory Committee (or the chair's designee); and (iii) officials from the fisheries management authorities of American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands (or their designees). The PAC supports the work of the U.S. National Section to the WCPFC in an advisory capacity. The U.S. National Section is made up of the U.S. Commissioners, the Department of State, and the U.S. head of delegation. NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office provides administrative and technical support to the PAC in cooperation with the Department of State. More information on the WCPFC, established under the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, can be found on the WCPFC website:
www.wcpfc.int.
Meeting Topics
The PAC meeting topics may include the following: (1) outcomes of the 2026 annual sessions of the WCPFC Scientific Committee, Northern Committee, and Technical and Compliance Committee; (2) issues to be considered in the WCPFC 2026 annual session; (3) potential U.S. proposals to the WCPFC 2026 annual session; (4) input and advice from the PAC on issues that may arise at the WCFPC 2026 annual session; (5) potential proposals from other WCPFC members; and (6) other issues. There will also be an opportunity for the U.S. Participating Territories (American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) to present their priority issues to the U.S. Commissioners.
Special Accommodations
The meeting is accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Katrina Poremba (email:
pir.wcpfc@noaa.gov)
by September 20, 2026.
Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.
91 FR 53609
Web Citation
Suggested Web Citation
Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.
“Permanent Advisory Committee To Advise the U.S. Commissioners to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission; Meeting Announcement,” thefederalregister.org (August 19, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-16875/permanent-advisory-committee-to-advise-the-u-s-commissioners-to-the-western-and-central-pacific-fisheries-commission-mee.
16 U.S.C. 6901
www.wcpfc.int