[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