Pacific Council outlines advisory body rules, travel and platform procedures in recorded briefing

Kelly Ames, deputy director of the Pacific Fishery Management Council, opened the recorded all-advisory-body briefing, saying, "Good morning, and welcome to the 2025 all advisory body briefing." The session was recorded for later posting on the council website and staff said they would remain on the line after recording to answer questions.

The briefing explained the council's Council Operating Procedures (COPs) and advisory-body ground rules and walked new appointees through expectations for conduct, attendance, alternates, stipends and travel reimbursement. "We literally couldn't do this without you," Executive Director Merrick Burden told advisory members, stressing the geographic scale of the council's work and the value of advisory input.

Council staff summarized the COPs as the primary reference for day-to-day operations and said advisory-body members should review the specific COP that applies to their appointment. Key items covered included termination criteria for advisory subpanel members, limits on absences, harassment reporting, and requirements for alternates and travel.

The presentation said advisory subpanel members may be replaced at the council's discretion for reasons that include changing employment or residence, being absent from two meetings in any 12-month period, appearing unable to perform duties, or violating rules of conduct. The briefing described the harassment reporting procedures and said harassment or retaliation will not be tolerated.

Kelly Ames explained alternate requests: members must submit requests to the deputy director at least 30 days before the first day of the advisory-body meeting or the first day of the council meeting held in conjunction with it. "During the COVID era, we waived the 30 day requirement... moving forward, we will be strictly enforcing the 30 day requirement," Ames said.

On stipends and travel, staff said stipends may be paid, subject to the availability of appropriations, to advisory-body members who are not federal employees or employed by a state marine fisheries agency. Travel invitations, which serve as official travel orders, come from a noaa.gov email account and include per diem rates, authorized travel dates and hotel reservation instructions. Patricia Herring, identified as the administrative officer in the briefing, was named as the contact for itinerary changes and cost comparisons; staff said reimbursements will be made according to the lowest-cost option that is most financially advantageous to the council.

IT manager Chris Kleinschmidt reviewed online platforms and resources. He said the council website contains dedicated meeting pages with briefing books, agendas, public comment e-portal links and recordings; the council posts daily meeting recordings and timestamps to its YouTube channel. Kleinschmidt described two RingCentral platforms used by the council: RingCentral Video for routine advisory meetings and RingCentral Webinar for council meetings. "RingCentral Video... is the one that we're using currently for this meeting," he said, and staff explained how participants use hand-raise, screen-share and chat controls and how the council handles hybrid participation.

The briefing confirmed the council uses Concur for travel booking and expense reimbursement; staff said members must set up a Concur profile, attach a bank account for reimbursements and use multifactor authentication. Speakers noted the Concur app can store receipt photos but recommended filing full claims via the website.

Staff closed by asking members to review website resources, return intent-to-serve forms if not already submitted, and monitor council email (from noaa.gov addresses) for meeting materials and travel invites. They reiterated the recording will be posted to the council website and staff will remain available after the recording for questions.