[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 34 (Friday, February 20, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 8612]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-4365]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 021398A]


Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery Council (Council) will hold 
meetings of its Bottomfish and Crustaceans Plan Teams in Honolulu, HI.

DATES: The Bottomfish Plan Team (BPT) meeting will be held on March 11-
13, 1998, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., each day. The Crustaceans Plan 
Team (CPT) meeting will be held on March 17-19, 1998, from 8:30 a.m. to 
5:00 p.m., each day.

ADDRESSES: Both meetings will be held at the Council office conference 
room, 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI; telephone: (808) 
522-8220.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director; 
telephone: (808) 522-8220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BPT will discuss and may make 
recommendations to the Council on a draft comprehensive amendment to 
implement new Sustainable Fishery Act (SFA) requirements (bycatch, 
fishing sectors, fishing communities, overfishing, essential fish 
habitat); a draft amendment with management options to restore 
overfished Main Hawaiian Island (MHI) onaga and ehu, or address the 
situation in other ways; and draft island-area modules for the 1997 
bottomfish annual report. Other agenda items that the BPT will discuss 
and may take action on include:
    1. State and Federal research on MHI overfished bottomfish;
    2. Possible addition of generic level management unit species to 
the fishery management plan;
    3. Improvements to annual report modules, including reconsideration 
of geographic reporting of overfishing indicator;
    4. Update on the status of the draft amendment for the limited 
access program for the Mau Zone in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands 
(NWHI); and
    5. Other business as required.
    The CPT will discuss and make recommendations to the Council on a 
draft comprehensive amendment to implement new SFA requirements 
(bycatch, fishing sectors, fishing communities, overfishing, essential 
fish habitat); the draft 1997 NWHI lobster annual report; and the 
addition of new areas (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and 
U.S. Possessions) to Permit Area 3.
    Other agenda items that the CPT will discuss and may take action on 
include:
    1. Research and data collection plans for 1998;
    2. Determination of the 1998 harvest guideline, including 
estimation of exploitable population size and establishment of separate 
bank quotas;
    3. Status of framework regulatory changes: Vessel Monitoring System 
vessel transit of 50 mile closed area, announce harvest guideline 28 
February, add May to closed season for MHI Federal waters; and
    4. Other business as required.
    Although other issues not contained in this agenda may come before 
these Teams for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, those issues may not be the 
subject of formal action during these meetings. Action will be 
restricted to those issues specifically identified in the agenda listed 
in this notice.

Special Accommodations

    This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Kitty M. Simonds, 808-522-8220 (voice) or 808-
522-8226 (fax), at least 5 days prior to meeting date.

    Dated: February 13, 1998.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 98-4365 Filed 2-19-98; 8:45 am]
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