NIH Reshuffles Advisory Panels, NMFS Reallocates Atka Mackerel Catch in Alaska

NMFS Atka Mackerel Reallocation

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has issued a temporary rule, effective October 16, 2026 through 2400 hours Alaska local time on December 31, 2026, reallocating projected unused Atka mackerel incidental catch allowance (ICA) in the Bering Sea subarea and Eastern Aleutian district (BS/EAI) to the Amendment 80 cooperative allocation for the same area. The action is described as necessary to allow the 2026 total allowable catch (TAC) of Atka mackerel in the BS/EAI to be fully harvested.

According to the notice, the Regional Administrator for the Alaska Region determined that 700 mt of the Atka mackerel ICA for the BS/EAI will not be harvested. Acting under 50 CFR § 679.91(f), NMFS reallocated those 700 mt from the BS/EAI ICA to the BS/EAI Amendment 80 cooperative allocation. As a result, the revised harvest specifications are: 100 mt of Atka mackerel for the BS/EAI ICA and 33,519 mt for the Amendment 80 cooperative allocation for the BS/EAI. The notice states that NMFS will reissue the cooperative quota permit for the reallocated amount following the procedures set forth in § 679.91(f)(3).

The document explains that NMFS manages the groundfish fishery in the BSAI according to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area, prepared and recommended by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The original 2026 Atka mackerel ICA for the BSAI trawl limited access sector and non-trawl gear sector for the BS/EAI was established at 800 mt, and the 2026 TAC allocated to the Amendment 80 sector for the BS/EAI was 32,819 mt, both set by the final 2026 and 2027 harvest specifications for groundfish in the BSAI published March 10, 2026. The rule also notes that for 2026, all Amendment 80 vessels are part of the sole Amendment 80 cooperative, so the TAC allocated to the Amendment 80 sector is allocated entirely to that sole cooperative with no TAC assigned to the Amendment 80 limited access fishery.

NIH Center for Scientific Review: Meeting Amendments and New Closures

The NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR) published an amended notice shortening a previously announced Special Emphasis Panel on Fellowships in Basic Neurosciences. The meeting, originally scheduled for November 3–4, 2026, at NIH's Rockledge II facility in Bethesda, Maryland, has been changed to a single day: November 4, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The meeting remains closed to the public. The original notice appeared in the Federal Register on October 7, 2026.

A separate CSR notice announced multiple closed meetings scheduled for November 10, 2026, all to be held virtually. Panels convening that day include: the Special Emphasis Panel on Cooperative Agreement (UG3/UH3) for Clinical and Translational Research on Digital Health Technology, Behavioral and Social Interventions, and Substance Use/Overdose Prevention and Treatment (9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.); Communication, Motor Function, and Cognition (9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.); Neuroendocrinology, Circadian Rhythm, and Behavior (9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.); Member Conflict: Respiratory Sciences (10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.); and Member Conflict: Biology and Development of the Eye (1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.). Each meeting's agenda is to review and evaluate grant applications. The meetings are closed to the public under provisions of Title 5 U.S.C. sections 552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), on the grounds that discussions could disclose confidential trade secrets, commercial property such as patentable material, or personal information whose disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

An additional CSR closed meeting notice covers panels convening November 12–13, 2026, also held virtually. Those panels include: Musculoskeletal Integrative Physiology and Disease (9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.); Fellowships: Musculoskeletal and Oral Sciences (9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.); Oncology 2—Translational Clinical Integrated Review Group, Therapeutic Immune Regulation Study Section (9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.); Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering (November 12 only, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.); and Program Project: Cancer Research (9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.). As with the November 10 panels, each agenda is to review and evaluate grant applications, and all meetings are closed to the public on the same statutory grounds.

National Cancer Advisory Board Rescheduled to February 2027

The National Cancer Institute published an amended notice for the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB), which had been scheduled to meet December 1–2, 2026, at the National Cancer Institute–Shady Grove facility in Rockville, Maryland. The meeting has been moved and reformatted: it will now be held virtually on February 11, 2027. According to the notice, the open session will run from 9:30 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. for NCAB Subcommittee Meetings, and from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. for the Director's and Program reports, presentations, and Board business. A closed session for grant application review will follow from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The meeting will be partially closed to the public. The original notice was published June 11, 2026.

What to Watch

• October 16 – December 31, 2026: NMFS Atka mackerel reallocation rule is in effect; the revised BS/EAI ICA stands at 100 mt and the Amendment 80 cooperative allocation at 33,519 mt.
• November 4, 2026: CSR Special Emphasis Panel, Fellowships: Basic Neurosciences (amended, single-day meeting; closed to public).
• November 10, 2026: Five CSR Special Emphasis Panel virtual meetings on digital health/substance use research, neuroscience, and respiratory and eye sciences (all closed to public).
• November 12–13, 2026: Five CSR Special Emphasis Panel virtual meetings on musculoskeletal physiology, oral sciences, oncology, biomaterials, and cancer research (all closed to public).
• February 11, 2027: National Cancer Advisory Board virtual meeting (partially open); includes closed grant-review session from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

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