42766 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 153 / Friday, August 8, 1997 / Notices

Canadian Section of the NAFTA

Secretariat pursuant to Article 1904 of

the North American Free-Trade

Agreement. Panel review was requested

of the final injury determination made

by the Canadian International Trade

Tribunal, in the material injury

investigation respecting Concrete

Panels, reinforced with fiberglass mesh,

originating in or exported from the

United States of America. This

determination was published in the

Canada Gazette, Part I, Vol. 13, No. 28,

page 1957–58 on July 12, 1997. The

NAFTA Secretariat has assigned Case

Number CDA–97–1904–01 to this

request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James R. Holbein, United States

Secretary, NAFTA Secretariat, Suite

2061, 14th and Constitution Avenue,

Washington, D.C. 20230, (202) 482–

5438.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Chapter

19 of the North American Free-Trade

Agreement (‘‘Agreement’’) establishes a

mechanism to replace domestic judicial

review of final determinations in

antidumping and countervailing duty

cases involving imports from a NAFTA

country with review by independent

binational panels. When a Request for

Panel Review is filed, a panel is

established to act in place of national

courts to review expeditiously the final

determination to determine whether it

conforms with the antidumping or

countervailing duty law of the country

that made the determination.

Under Article 1904 of the Agreement,

which came into force on January 1,

1994, the Government of the United

States, the Government of Canada and

the Government of Mexico established

Rules of Procedure for Article 1904

Binational Panel Reviews (‘‘Rules’’).

These Rules were published in the

Federal Register on February 23, 1994

(59 FR 8686).

A first request for panel review was

filed with the Canadian Section of the

NAFTA Secretariat, pursuant to Article

1904 of the Agreement, on July 21, 1997,

requesting panel review of the final

material injury investigation described

above.

The Rules provide that:

(a) A Party or interested person may

challenge the final determination in

whole or in part by filing a Complaint

in accordance with Rule 39 within 30

days after the filing of the first request

for panel review (the deadline for filing

a Complaint is August 20, 1997);

(b) A Party, investigating authority or

interested person that does not file a

Complaint but that intends to appear in

support of any reviewable portion of the

final determination may participate in

the panel review by filing a Notice of

Appearance in accordance with Rule 40

within 45 days after the filing of the first

request for panel review (the deadline

for filing a notice of appearance is

September 4, 1997); and

(c) The panel review shall be limited

to the allegations of error of fact or law,

including the jurisdiction of the

investigating authority, that are set out

in the Complaints filed in the panel

review and the procedural and

substantive defenses raised in the panel

review.

Dated: August 4, 1997.

James R. Holbein,

United States Secretary, NAFTA Secretariat.

[FR Doc. 97–20961 Filed 8–7–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–GT–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

(I.D. 072297C)

Food and Agriculture Organization

(FAO) Committee on Fisheries

Meetings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of process; developing

U.S. positions on FAO fisheries issues.

SUMMARY: Important events occurred at

the United Nations Food and

Agriculture Organization’s (FAO’s)

meeting of the Committee on Fisheries

(COFI) in March 1997. The United

States highlighted several fisheries

issues for FAO and member countries to

take action on in the near future:

Managing fishing capacity, seabird

bycatch and mortality in longline

fisheries, and shark conservation and

management.

The United States is working with

FAO on preparations designed to lead to

an FAO Consultation, with all FAO

member countries invited, to consider

action plans for all three issues in late

1998. Preparations will include

meetings of expert Technical Working

Groups (TWGs) with the result that FAO

will provide background information

and draft plans of action well in

advance of the FAO Consultation.

NMFS is involved directly in each of

these initiatives and believes that

keeping affected industries and

interested groups informed is important.

The public is invited to contact the

individuals identified in supplementary

information to declare interest and

receive further information, including

the terms of reference for the TWGs

when these become available. Public

meetings that may be required in the

planning for the FAO COFI Consultation

will be announced in the Federal

Register.

ADDRESSES: Questions about this

document may be directed to Dean

Swanson, Chief, International Fisheries

Division, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, NMFS, 1315 East-West

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dean Swanson, 301–713–2276.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Management of Fishing Capacity

It is widely recognized that excess

fishing effort exerted by unnecessarily

large fishing fleets is often a

contributing factor to the depletion of

fish stocks. Excess fishing capacity can

be a major impediment to effective

management and a major source of

economic waste. Although an

international consensus appears to be

emerging on the need for improved

control of fishing capacity, its

implementation at the national,

regional, and global levels is proving to

be difficult. In order to provide the type

of information needed by fisheries

managers, policymakers, the fishing

sector, and other concerned parties,

NMFS has agreed to sponsor or cosponsor one or more international

meetings, with the ultimate aim of

producing (i) technical guidelines on

how to define, measure and control

fishing capacity, and on the causes,

consequences, and cures for

overcapacity, and (ii) a draft plan of

action for consideration at the FAO

Consultation. The exact objectives and

terms of reference for the capacity TWG

are still under discussion with FAO and

Japan.

The United States is the principal

sponsor of a proposed TWG on Fishing

Capacity, with FAO and Japan also

contributing some funds. The TWG is

tentatively scheduled to be held in La

Jolla, CA, in early 1998. Followup

meetings leading to a plan of action are

likely to be co-sponsored by the United

States and Japan.

NMFS Contact: regarding the TWG,

Pamela Mace

Ocean Fishery Resources Division

National Marine Fisheries Service

166 Water Street

Woods Hole, MA 02543

508–495–2357

regarding the FAO Consultation,

Matteo Milazzo

International Fisheries Division
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 153 / Friday, August 8, 1997 / Notices 42767

Office of Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS

1315 East-West Highway

Silver Spring, MD 20910

301–713–2276

Reduction of Incidental Catch of

Seabirds in Longline Fisheries

Tens of thousands of seabirds are

being killed incidental to various

commercial longline fisheries in the

world. Some of the seabirds are species

of management concern and

populations of several other seabird

species may be declining because of

longline bycatches. Seabird bycatch also

has an adverse impact on catch rates

and profitability of fishing operations.

Governments, nongovernmental

organizations, and commercial fishery

associations are petitioning for

regulatory measures to reduce the

mortality of seabirds in the world’s

longline fisheries.

The goal for the Seabird TWG and the

subsequent FAO Consultation is to

produce an action plan to implement

FAO guidelines on mitigating measures

to reduce incidental catches of seabirds

in longline fisheries. Japan and the U.S.

will co-host the session, and the U.S. colead agencies are NMFS and the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

NMFS Contact: Kim Rivera

National Marine Fisheries Service

Fisheries Management Division

P.O. Box 21668

Juneau, AK 99802

907–586–7228

FWS Contact: Kent Wohl

Migratory Bird Management

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

1011 East Tudor

Anchorage, AK 99503

907–783–3503

Shark Conservation and Management

Global landings of sharks and related

species have dramatically increased in

recent years. Sharks are particularly

vulnerable to overexploitation due to

life history characteristics, particularly

relatively low rates of reproduction. In

addition, fishing mortality due to

bycatch exceeds that due to directed

fisheries. The expanding international

market for shark fins, cartilage, meat,

and skins is an important factor

motivating recent increased mortality.

An international consensus is

emerging on the need for improved

control of fishing effort on sharks and

related species by both directed and

bycatch fleets. The goal for the

upcoming Shark TWG and subsequent

FAO Consultation is to develop a global

strategy (action plan) and guidelines for

sustainable international and regional

management of elasmobranch species by

national, regional, and highly migratory

management groups.

The intent of the strategy is to provide

an effective web of management regimes

sufficient to arrest the declines of

sharks, skates, and rays where they have

occurred and to put the harvest of these

species on a sustainable basis.

NMFS Contact: Dean Swanson

International Fisheries Division

National Marine Fisheries Service

1315 East-West Highway

Silver Spring, MD 20910

301–713–2276

Dated: August 4, 1997.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–20925 Filed 8–7–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 072897E]

South Atlantic Fishery Management

Council; Public Scoping Meetings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery

Management Council (Council) will

hold an Atlantic Coastal Cooperative

Statistics Program (ACCSP) public

scoping meeting and a public scoping

meeting on dolphin fish management.

DATES: The meetings will be held from

August 18–20, 1997, in conjunction

with the Council meeting. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific

dates and times.

ADDRESSES: The scoping meetings will

be held at the Town and Country Inn,

2008 Savannah Highway, Charleston,

SC; telephone: (803) 571–1000 or (800)

334–6660.

Council address: South Atlantic

Fishery Management Council, One

Southpark Circle, Suite 306; Charleston,

SC 29407–4699.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Susan Buchanan, Public Information

Officer; telephone: (803) 571–4366; fax:

(803) 769–4520; E-mail address:

susan.buchanan@noaa.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

ACCSP public scoping meeting will be

held August 18, 1997, from 6:00 p.m.

until all business is complete. The

purpose of this scoping meeting is to

provide members of the public an

opportunity to express their views on

ways to improve commercial and

recreational fisheries data collection.

The public scoping meeting on

dolphin management will be held

August 20, 1997, from 6:00 p.m. until all

business is complete. The purpose of

this scoping meeting is to provide

members of the public an opportunity to

express their views on the need for and

the type of management the Council

should consider for the dolphin fish

resource.

Special Accommodations

These meetings are physically

accessible to people with disabilities.

Requests for sign language

interpretation or other auxiliary aids

should be directed to the Council office

(see ADDRESSES) by August 11, 1997.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

Dated: August 4, 1997.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–20954 Filed 8–5–97; 11:27 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

Defense Intelligence Agency, Science

and Technology Advisory Board;

Closed Meeting

AGENCY: Department of Defense, Defense

Intelligence Agency.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of

Subsection (d) of Section 10 of Public

Law 92–463, as amended by Section 5

of Public Law 94–409, notice is hereby

given that a closed meeting of the DIA

Science and technology Advisory board

has been scheduled as follows:

DATES: 21 August 1997 (8 a.m. to 4

p.m.).

ADDRESSES: The Defense Intelligence

Agency, Bolling AFB, Washington, DC

20340–5100.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Maj. Michael W. Lamb, USAF,

Executive Secretary, DIA Science and

Technology Advisory Board,

Washington, DC 20340–1328 (202) 231–

4930.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The entire

meeting is devoted to the discussion of

classified information as defined in

Section 552b(c)(I), Title 5 of the U.S.

Code and therefore will be closed to the

public. The Board will receive briefings

on and discuss several current critical

intelligence issues and advise the

Director, DIA, on related scientific and

technical matters.