# West Coast Groundfish Trawl Seabird Cable Strike Meeting; Meeting Announcement
**AGENCY:**
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
**ACTION:**
Notice of public meeting.
**SUMMARY:**
NMFS announces a meeting to present the results of research studies conducted on seabird cable strikes in the West Coast at-sea whiting fishery. The meeting topics are described under the *SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION* section of this notice.
**DATES:**
The virtual meeting will be held on December 10, 2021, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Pacific Standard Time (or until business is concluded).
**ADDRESSES:**
Instructions for attending the meeting will be provided on the web at *https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/west-coast-groundfish* and through a public notice to be emailed out to the West Coast Groundfish Listserv. Sign up to receive West Coast Groundfish public notices at *https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USNOAAFISHERIES/subscriber/new.* After entering your contact information, check the boxes for the “Groundfish” and/or “Pacific Whiting” topics under “West Coast Updates”.
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Keeley Kent, West Coast Region, at *[email protected]* or 206-247-8252.
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
Seabirds congregate around trawlers to feed on offal putting them at risk of colliding with cables (trawl warps and data cables) that run aft of trawlers. Cable strikes are a known source of seabird mortality worldwide, particularly on at-sea factory trawlers (referred to as catcher/processors). Research projects observing seabird cable strikes and other interactions, as well as testing of mitigation measures, have been conducted in the West Coast at-sea Pacific whiting fishery. NMFS will present results from these studies to inform a discussion of their application to management.
**Trawl Seabird Bycatch Meeting Topics**
This meeting will have an agenda that will be distributed to participants in advance of the meeting. The meeting agenda will include, but is not limited to, the following topics:
(1) Presentation of research studies conducted on seabird interactions in at-sea Pacific whiting fisheries, including cable strikes;
(2) Discussion of seabird bycatch mitigation measure trials; and
(3) Application of research results to management.
**Special Accommodations**
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Keeley Kent (see *ADDRESSES* ) by November 5, 2021.
*Authority:* 16 U.S.C. 951 *et seq.,* 16 U.S.C. 1801 *et seq.,* and 16 U.S.C. 6901 *et seq.*
Dated: October 25, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.