[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 135 (Wednesday, July 15, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 38144-38146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-18889]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[I.D. 070198A]
Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Public meeting; availability of documents.
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SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will
hold its 97th meeting in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. The Council will
consider, among other things, action on new framework measures for the
American Samoa pelagic and NWHI lobster fisheries. Documents for an
American Samoa pelagics closure and a Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
(NWHI) lobster fishery harvest limitation program are available for
comment.
DATES: The Council meeting will be held on July 27-29, 1998. Comments
on the documents describing new framework measures for the American
Samoa pelagic and NWHI lobster fisheries should be received in the
Council office no later than July 27, 1998.
ADDRESSES: The Council's 97th meeting will be held at the King
Kamehameha Hotel, Kailua Kona, Hawaii; telephone: 808-329-2911. Copies
of the meeting agenda and documents describing new framework measures
for the American Samoa pelagic and NWHI lobster fisheries are available
from the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, 1164 Bishop St.,
Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director;
telephone 808-522-8220.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Times and Dates
The Council's Standing Committees will meet on July 27, as follows:
Enforcement from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., Crustaceans from 8:00 a.m. to
10:00 a.m., VMS from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Pelagics and Bottomfish
(concurrent) from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Indigenous Fishing Rights
and Ecosystem & Habitat (concurrent) from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., and
Precious Corals and Executive/Budget & Programing (concurrent) from
3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The full Council will meet
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on July 28 and 29, 1998, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., each day.
Agenda
The Council is one of eight regional fishery management councils
authorized by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The full Council will meet to address the
agenda items below. The order in which agenda items will be addressed
may change. The Council will meet as late as necessary to complete its
scheduled business.
Although other issues not contained in this agenda may come before
the Council for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this
meeting. Action will be restricted to those issues specifically
identified in this notice.
8:30 a.m. Tuesday, 28 July 1998
A. Call to order, opening remarks, introductions;
1. Approval of agenda and 95th and 96th Council Minutes;
B. Reports from the Islands: American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, and
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI);
C. Enforcement;
1. Reports from the U.S. Coast Guard, National Marine Fisheries
Service Office of Enforcement, and NOAA General Counsel Southwest
Region;
2. Cooperative agreement for Guam and CNMI;
3. Standing Committee recommendations;
4. Public comment;
D. Vessel Monitoring System (VMS);
1. Report on NMFS Industry Advisory Panel and National VMS Policy;
2. Report on the Hawaii VMS program;
3. Standing Committee recommendations;
E. Pelagics;
1. Second quarter report for longline fisheries in Hawaii and
American Samoa in 1998;
2. Final action on an area closure framework measure for the
American Samoa pelagic fishery (see summary of document E.2);
3. Reports on the 3rd Multilateral High-level Conference;
4. Protected species interactions: Albatross and turtles;
5. Issues concerning shark finning in the Western Pacific Region;
6. Report on universal minimum size limit for swordfish in the
United States;
7. Pelagic longline and charter interactions in Hawaii;
8. Report on Secretariat of the Pacific Community meetings;
9. Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and Standing
Committee recommendations;
10. Public comment/hearing;
F. Crustaceans;
1. Annual allocation of bank-specific harvest guidelines including
1998 bank-specific guidelines and discussion of a framework regulatory
measure governing future bank-specific guidelines (see summary of
document F.1);
2. SSC, and Standing Committee recommendations;
3. Public comment/hearing;
8:30 a.m. Wednesday, 29 July 1998
G. Reports from Fishery Agencies and Organizations, including:
Department of Commerce National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest
Region, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, and NOAA General Counsel;
and Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service;
H. Precious corals;
1. Consistency between state and Federal regulations;
2. Plan Team, SSC and Standing Committee recommendations;
3. Public comments;
I. Bottomfish;
1. The 1997 annual report for American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii and
CNMI, including recommendations;
2. Management of Main Hawaiian Islands onaga, ehu, and hapupuu
including: Status of genetic research on stock range and related
studies, NMFS research activities (Hawaii, Guam, and CNMI), and
implementation of Department of Land and Natural Resources' (DLNR)
management plan and Federal management alternatives;
3. Final Council action on amendment to establish a Mau Zone
limited access program. Copy of the draft amendment is available for
comment from the Council office (see ADDRESSES);
4. SSC and Standing Committee recommendations;
5. Public hearing;
J. Native rights and indigenous fishing issues;
1. Review of marine conservation plans from American Samoa, Guam,
and CNMI;
2. Status of the CNMI turtle conservation workshop;
3. Status of the community development program;
4. Report on NMFS vessel financing program and status of the drift
gillnet vessel in Guam;
5. Advisory Panel appointments;
6. Standing Committee recommendations;
7. Public hearing;
K. Ecosystems and habitat;
1. Coral reef ecosystems;
2. Status of EIS on Farallon de Mendinilla, CNMI;
3. Current ecosystem and habitat issues;
4. SSC and Standing Committee recommendations;
5. Public comment;
L. Program planning;
1. Final Council action on the comprehensive Sustainable Fisheries
Act (SFA) amendment for all FMPs regarding bycatch, fishing sectors,
fishing communities, overfishing and designation of essential fish
habitat(EFH) (including potential fishing and non-fishing threats to
EFH and conservation and enhancement measures to mitigate impacts to
EFH), and environmental impact of SFA provisions. Copy of the draft
amendment is available for comment from the Council office (see
ADDRESSES);
2. Advisory Panel and Plan Team final comments and SSC and Standing
Committee recommendations;
3. Report on WPacFIN;
4. Revision of Council milestones;
5. Public comment/hearing;
M. Administrative matters;
1. Administrative reports;
2. Reports on meetings, workshops, and proposed 98th Council
Meeting in November 1998, in Honolulu, Hawaii;
3. Standing Committee recommendations;
4. Public comment; and
N. Other business.
Summary of Documents for Public Comment
American Samoa Pelagics Closure Proposal (E.2)
1. The Council will be taking final action on an area closure
framework measure for the American Samoa pelagic fishery.
2. Action is being taken under framework procedures for new
measures in the Pelagics Fisheries Management Plan.
3. At its May 1998 meeting, the Council agreed to proceed with this
management measure, adopted the initial preferred alternative, and
asked that this be included on the agenda for the 97th Council meeting
in July 1998 for final Council action. The Council also directed
Council staff to prepare a detailed document describing the preferred
management alternative and the rejected alternatives which would be
available for public comment prior to the July Council meeting.
4. Fishermen in American Samoa who are members of the Council's
advisory panels have expressed concern about the long-term
sustainability of the local small-boat pelagics fishery. In
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particular, there is concern that large longline vessels will seek new
fishing opportunities in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around
American Samoa as fisheries in other areas of the U.S. EEZ become
increasingly restricted. In the late 1980s, a rapid influx of large
vessels in the Hawaii longline fishery, resulted in extensive gear
conflicts. In addition, there is concern that the large vessels
supplying fish to American Samoa's tuna canneries already fish in the
EEZ occasionally. A widely held perception among small-scale trollers
and longliners is that these larger vessels intercept fish migrating to
local waters and reduce the supply of tuna and other pelagic species
available for capture by artisanal and recreational fishermen.
The Council was asked at the 92nd meeting, in April 1997, to assist
in forming a fishermen's working group to consider various management
options to ensure the long-term sustainability of the small-boat
fishery. Various meetings of the working group and other fishermen were
convened by the Council and the American Samoa Department of Marine and
Wildlife Resources between June and October 1997. The consensus among
fishermen was that the most effective management action would be to
close an area around the islands of American Samoa to pelagic fishing
vessels longer than 50 ft (15.2 m).
At its April 1998 meeting, the Council recommended as its initial
preferred alternative a prohibition against all U.S. fishing vessels
(e.g. longliners, purse seiners, trollers and pole-and-line bait boats)
greater than 50 ft (15.2 m) in length fishing for pelagic management
unit species within an area approximately 100 nautical miles from the
islands of American Samoa. Those longline vessels larger than 50 ft
(15.2 m) that had acquired a permit and had landed a pelagic management
unit species in American Samoa prior to November 14, 1997, would still
be eligible to fish within the closed area.
5. A document describing the issue, alternative actions, preferred
Council action, and anticipated impacts is available for public comment
(see ADDRESSES).
NWHI Annual Bank-Specific Harvest Guidelines (F.1)
1. The Council will be discussing and may be taking initial action
to establish a process for setting annual bank-specific harvest
guidelines for the 1999 NWHI lobster season and beyond.
2. Action is being taken under the framework procedure for new
measures in the Crustacean Fisheries Management Plan.
3. At its April 1998 meeting, the Council requested the development
of options governing the process by which the NMFS Regional
Administrator, in consultation with the Council, allocates the annual
harvest guideline among banks or areas to prevent overfishing and
achieve optimum yield.
4. A background document summarizing this issue, the need for
framework management measure, and alternative actions is available for
public comment (see ADDRESSES).
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 the meeting date.
Dated: July 10, 1998.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 98-18889 Filed 7-10-98; 4:02 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F