[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 202 (Tuesday, October 20, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56004-56005]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-28110]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 101398A]


Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery Council (Council) will hold its 
70th meeting of its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) in 
Honolulu, HI.

DATES: The SSC meeting will be held on November 11-13, 1998, from 8:30 
a.m. to 5:00 p.m., each day.

ADDRESSES: The 70th SSC meeting will be held at the Council office 
conference room, 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI; telephone: 
808-522-8220.
    Council address: 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: The SSC will discuss and may make 
recommendations to the Council on the following agenda items. The order 
in which agenda items will be addressed can change.

Wednesday, November 11, 1998, 8:30 a.m.

    A. Precious corals fishery management plan (FMP) issues
    1. Status of fishery; and
    2. Findings of recent research in the Northwestern Hawaiian 
Islands.
    B. Crustaceans FMP issues (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands [NWHI] 
lobster fishery)
    1. Update on the 1998 commercial fishing season;
    2. Results from the 1998 research cruise;
    3. Status of NMFS tagging project; and
    4. Status of draft regulatory measure for bank-specific harvest 
guidelines.
    Presentation: ``Guidelines for limited entry programs''
    C. Ecosystem & Habitat issues
    1. Comments on Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for 
Farallon de Mendinilla, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 
(CNMI);
    2. Other issues/activities; and
    3. Development of Coral Reef Ecosystem FMP, including goals and 
objectives, draft outline, proposed initial regulations, and research 
and assessment needs.

Thursday, November 12, 1998, 8:30 a.m.

    Presentation: ``Linear programming model of Hawaii's multifishery''
    D. Pelagic FMP issues
    1. 2nd/3rd quarter 1998 longline fishery report (for Hawaii and 
American Samoa);
    2. Research & issues update: Secretariat of the Pacific Community-
Oceanic Fisheries Program (SPC-OFP), Inter-American Tropical Tuna 
Commission (IATTC);
    3. NMFS review of area closure framework measure for American 
Samoa;
    4. Outline for a comprehensive data amendment;
    5. Blue marlin management options;
    6. Bigeye tagging workshop outputs;
    7. Protected species interactions/Food and Agricultural 
Organization (FAO) Expert Consultations, considering: 3rd quarter 1998 
turtle takes and research, 1998 bird takes, bird mitigation project and 
population dynamics workshop, and reports of FAO Rome meeting for 
shark, birds and capacity;
    8. Sharks, including finning update and research initiatives;
    9. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting - Honolulu - 
October; and
    10. Upcoming meetings: Interim Scientific Committee (ISC) - 
Honolulu - January, and Fourth Multilateral High Level Conference 
(MHLC4) - Honolulu - February.

Wednesday, November 13, 1998, 8:30 a.m.

    E. Bottomfish FMP issues
    1. Status of onaga, ehu and hapuupuu, and request to NMFS to remove 
from overfished list;
    2. Status of Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) and NMFS 
research activities;
    3. Report on state management in Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI); and
    4. Options for Federal management in MHI: including delegation of 
authority to state and other options.
    F. Review of Council's Programs
    G. Other Business
    Although other issues not contained in this agenda may come before 
this Council for discussion, in accordance

[[Page 56005]]

with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 
those issues may not be the subject of formal Council action during 
this meeting. Council action will be restricted to those issues 
specifically identified in the agenda listed in this notice.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are 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: October 14, 1998.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-28110 Filed 10-19-98; 8:45 am]
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