Notice2026-18844
Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 15, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The Groundfish Subcommittee of the Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will convene to review the suitability of a standardization of fishery- dependent indices for midwater rockfishes and an eDNA-based index of abundance for application in groundfish stock assessments. The methodology review meeting is open to the public and being conducted in person with the opportunity for public comment.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 177 (Tuesday, September 15, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 15, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Page 58424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-18844]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XG049]
Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of a public online meeting.
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SUMMARY: The Groundfish Subcommittee of the Pacific Fishery Management
Council's (Pacific Council) Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC)
will convene to review the suitability of a standardization of fishery-
dependent indices for midwater rockfishes and an eDNA-based index of
abundance for application in groundfish stock assessments. The
methodology review meeting is open to the public and being conducted in
person with the opportunity for public comment.
DATES: The groundfish methodology review meeting will be held Tuesday,
October 6, 2026, through Thursday, October 8, 2026, from 8 a.m. until 5
p.m. (Pacific Daylight Time) or until business for the day has been
completed.
ADDRESSES: The groundfish methodology review will be conducted as an
in-person meeting with web broadcasting. Specific meeting information,
including the agenda and directions on how to join the meeting and
system requirements, will be provided in the workshop announcement on
the Pacific Council's website (see <a href="http://www.pcouncil.org">www.pcouncil.org</a>). You may send an
email to Hayden York (<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5e363f273a3b307027312c351e2e3d312b303d373270312c39"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b6ded7cfd2d3d898cfd9c4ddf6c6d5d9c3d8d5dfda98d9c4d1">[email protected]</span></a>; (503) 820-2424) for
technical assistance.
Council address: Pacific Fishery Management Council, 7700 NE
Ambassador Place, Suite 101, Portland, Oregon 97220.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diana Perry, Staff Officer, Pacific
Council; telephone: (503) 820-2414, email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5f1b363e313e710f3a2d2d261f2f3c302a313c363371302d38"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8dc9e4ece3eca3dde8fffff4cdfdeee2f8e3eee4e1a3e2ffea">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the groundfish methodology
review meeting is aimed at evaluating fishery-dependent indices for
midwater rockfishes and an eDNA-based index of abundance, which has
been developed for the Pacific hake stock assessment, and has been
informally proposed for application to widow rockfish and other
groundfish species. The fishery-dependent methodology review will focus
on practices for data filtering, index standardization model structure,
and variables to consider in standardization. The proposed model
includes a standard spatiotemporal delta-model for catch rates,
positive encounters, and a third layer which supports the estimation of
the magnitude of preferential sampling behavior (aggregate, or by
vessels) and compares indices to models that do not account for non-
random sampling. The eDNA-based index of abundance method review will
include the application of eDNA approaches in building an abundance
index using Pacific hake as a case study and how the same samples
collected and analyzed for hake can be repurposed to examine the
abundance and distribution of a wide range of groundfish and coastal
pelagic species. This review is planned in preparation for the 2029
groundfish stock assessment cycle. The results of this review are not
considered final until reviewed by the full SSC at a future Pacific
Council meeting.
No management actions will be decided by the meeting participants.
The participants' role will be development of recommendations and
reports for consideration by the SSC and the Pacific Council at a
future Pacific Council meeting.
Although non-emergency issues not contained in the meeting agenda
may be discussed, those issues may not be the subject of formal action
during this meeting. 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
305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act,
provided the public has been notified of the intent of the workshop
participants to take final action to address the emergency.
Special Accommodations
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids
should be directed to Hayden York (<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0c646d756869622275637e674c7c6f6379626f656022637e6b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dab2bba3bebfb4f4a3b5a8b19aaab9b5afb4b9b3b6f4b5a8bd">[email protected]</span></a>; (503) 820-
2424) at least 10 days prior to the meeting date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: September 9, 2026.
Anna Michelle Harrison,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-18844 Filed 9-14-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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