FYI. Going to be interesting to see how this shakes out. Going to save a lot of travel time and money for the agencies.


Pacific Fishery Management Council

NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, March 13, 2020

Contact:Chuck Tracy, Executive Director, chuck.tracy@noaa.gov
Mike Burner, Deputy Director, mike.burner@noaa.govCouncil
Office 503-820-2280, Toll Free: 1-866-806-7204

PACIFIC FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL APRIL COUNCIL MEETING,ADVISORY BODY MEETINGS, AND MARCH SALMON PUBLIC HEARINGS WILL BE HELD BY WEBINAR

As a result of the evolving COVID-19 public health concerns, Council Leadership has determined that the April 4-10 meetings of the Pacific Fishery Management Council, originally planned to be held in Vancouver, Washington, will be conducted by webinar only. In addition, most of the scheduled ancillary advisory body meetings will also be conducted by webinar only. Because of the logistical challenges this format will present, several non-essential agenda items may be cancelled or postponed, as well as some advisory body meetings. An updated meeting notice, including a proposed agenda, reflecting these changes will be posted in the near future, but it is likely that the length of the Council and advisory body meetings will be shortened as a result. In addition to the April 4-10 meetings, the Council had scheduled public hearings on 2020 ocean salmon management alternatives at 7:00 p.m. March 23 (Westport, WA and Coos Bay, OR) and March 24 (Eureka, CA). These hearings will go forward by webinar only.Council staff is preparing information for participation in these webinars, and instructions will be posted on the Council website. The public will be provided an opportunity to comment, both via written comments submitted to our E-Portal, and to the best of our ability, orally via webinar. Because of the logistic challenges of conducting such large and numerous meetings in an interactive format, we strongly encourage public comment to be submitted through our E-Portal if possible.

Council staff will post update notices prominently on our website (www.pcouncil.org). Potential meeting participants and the public are encouraged to check the Pacific Council’s website frequently for such information and updates.We will do our best to ensure that the Council conducts its essential business to the greatest extent possible in a fair, transparent, and inclusive manner, as the fishery resources, stakeholders livelihoods, and consumer benefits depend on the actions the Council takes. We appreciate your interest and contributions to the Council process, and we look forward to returning to a more familiar format for future Council meetings.