[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 223 (Thursday, November 19, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64245-64246]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-30975]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 110698A]


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) and its standing 
committees will meet in Honolulu, HI, during the first week of 
December.

DATES: The meetings will be held on December 1-3, 1998. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates and times.

ADDRESSES: The 98th Council meeting will be held at the Hawaii Prince 
Hotel, Mauna Kea Ballroom, 100 Holomoana Street, Honolulu, HI 96815; 
telephone: (808-956-1111).
    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 Council's Standing Committees will meet 
on December 1, 1998 as follows:
    7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. --Enforcement
    8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.--Crustaceans
    9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.--VMS
    10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.--Pelagics and Bottomfish (concurrent)
    1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.--Indigenous Fishing Rights and Ecosystem & 
Habitat (concurrent)
    3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.--Precious Corals and Executive/Budget & 
Programming (concurrent)
    The full Council will meet on December 2-3, 1998, from 9:00 a.m. to 
5:00 p.m., each day.

Agenda

    The full Council will meet to address the agenda items below. The 
order in which agenda items will be addressed can change. The Council 
will meet as late as necessary to complete its scheduled business.

9:00 a.m., Wednesday, December 2, 1998

    A. Call to order, opening remarks, introductions
    Approval of Agenda and 97th Council Minutes
    B. Reports from the Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, and 
Northern Mariana Islands
    C. Enforcement
    1. Reports from the U.S. Coast Guard, National Marine Fisheries 
Service Office of Enforcement, and NOAA General Counsel for Enforcement 
and Litigation, Southwest Region
    2. Cooperative agreement for Guam and Northern Mariana Islands
    3. Improving vessel safety through new technology and equipment
    4. Standing Committee recommendations
    5. Public comment
    D. Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)
    1. Report on NMFS Industry Advisory Panel and National VMS Program
    2. Report on the Hawaii VMS program
    3. Standing Committee recommendations
    E. Pelagic Fishery Management Plan (FMP) issues
    1. 2nd/3rd quarter 1998 longline fishery report (for Hawaii and 
American Samoa)
    2. Status of area closure measure for American Samoa
    3. Outline for a comprehensive data amendment
    4. Blue marlin management options
    5. Protected species interactions, considering: 3rd quarter 1998 
turtle takes and research, 1998 bird takes, bird mitigation project and 
population dynamics workshop, other sources of mortality for seabirds, 
and reports of Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Rome expert 
consultations on shark fisheries, seabird/fishery interactions and 
fishing capacity
    6. Sharks, including finning update and research initiatives
    7. Report on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting - 
Honolulu - October
    8. Upcoming meetings: Interim Scientific Committee (ISC) - Honolulu 
- January, and Fourth Multilateral High Level Conference (MHLC4) - 
Honolulu - February
    9. Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and Standing 
Committee Recommendations
    F. 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
    4. Possible final action and framework regulatory measure for bank-
specific harvest guidelines for NWHI lobster fishery (see F.4. 
continued)
    5. SSC and Standing Committee Recommendations
    G. Fishermen's Forum: Information needs

9:00 a.m., Thursday, December 3, 1998

    H. Reports from Fishery Agencies and Organizations, including: 
Department of Commerce National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest 
Region, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, and NOAA General Counsel 
Southwest Region; Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service
    I. Precious corals FMP issues
    1. Status of fishery
    2. Findings of recent research in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
    3. Plan Team, SSC and Standing Committee recommendations
    J. Bottomfish FMP issues
    1. Status of onaga, ehu and hapuupuu, and request to NMFS to remove 
from overfished list
    2. Report on Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) and NMFS 
research activities
    3. Report on state management in Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI)
    4. Selection of preferred option for Federal management in MHI: 
considering delegation of authority to state and other options (see 
J.4. continued)
    5. SSC and Standing Committee recommendations
    K. Native Rights and Indigenous Fishing issues
    1. Status of Marine Conservation Plans
    2. Report of Community Development Program
    3. NMFS Vessel Loan Programs
    4. Report on Northern Mariana Islands turtle conservation workshop
    5. SSC and Standing Committee recommendations
    L. 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
    3. Development of Coral Reef Ecosystem FMP, including goals and 
objectives, draft outline, proposed initial regulations, and research 
and assessment needs
    M. Program Planning issues
    1. Review of Council Programs
    2. Report from Western Pacific Fisheries Information Network 
(WpacFIN)
    3. SSC and Standing Committee recommendations
    N. Administrative Matters
    1. Administrative Reports
    2. Meetings and Workshops
    3. 99th Council Meeting
    4. Review Advisory Panel applicants and select new members

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    5. Standing Committee recommendations
    O. Other Business
    1. Election of new officers for 1999
    P. Supplemental information for agenda items F.4. and J.4 
F.4.(Continued) Possible final action on framework regulatory measure 
for bank-specific harvest guidelines
    1. The Council will be discussing and may be taking final 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 FMP.
    3. At its April 1998 meeting, the Council requested the development 
of options governing the process by which the NMFS Southwest Regional 
Administrator, in consultation with the Council, allocates the annual 
harvest guideline among banks or areas to prevent overfishing and 
achieve optimum yield.
    4. At its July 1998 meeting, the Council selected the partial bank-
specific harvest guidelines alternative as its preferred option.
    5. At its December 1998 meeting, the Council will also consider two 
new options: (1) full bank-specific harvest guidelines and (2) Necker- 
Maro- Gardner- bank-specific harvest guidelines. If it continues to 
endorse its preferred alternative, final Council action can be taken. 
Selection of a different alternative would be considered initial action 
under the Crustacean FMP framework process.
    6. A background document summarizing this issue, need for framework 
management measure, and alternative actions is available for public 
comment (see ADDRESSES) and was distributed to all NWHI limited entry 
permit holders, Crustacean Advisory Panel, and Crustacean Plan Team 
members.
    J.4. (Continued) Selection of preferred option for Federal 
management in MHI
    1. The Council will be discussing and may be taking action to 
delegate authority to the State of Hawaii to manage bottomfish in the 
Federal Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the MHI, or other options so 
the state rules can be enforced in all MHI waters.
    2. Other alternatives for the Council to help facilitate the 
effectiveness of the state's new bottomfish management plan, that will 
be considered at the meeting, include (1) status quo, (2) Council 
resolution, (3) regulatory fix, and (4) withdrawal of Federal 
management.
    3. At its July 1998 meeting, the Council requested the development 
of options for assisting the state with MHI bottomfish management, 
including delegation of authority to the state.
    4. A background document summarizing this issue and proposed 
alternative actions is available for public comment (see ADDRESSES).
    Although other issues not contained in this agenda may come before 
the Council for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 
Conservation and Management 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.

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: November 16, 1998.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-30975 Filed 11-18-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F