[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 9, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51367-51369]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-25299]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[I.D. 092601A]


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/public hearings.

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SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
Advisory Panels will meet on October 22 and 23, 2001; the Standing 
Committees will meet on October 23, 2001; and the Council will hold its 
111th meeting October 23 through 26, 2001, in Honolulu, HI.
    At the full Council meeting, public hearings will be held prior to 
the Council taking final actions on framework regulatory amendments 
under the Fishery Management Plan for the Pelagic Fisheries of the 
Western Pacific Region (Pelagics FMP) concerning the protection of sea 
turtles and under the Fishery Management Plan for the Precious Corals 
Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region establishing a 250-nm precious 
coral refuge area in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). Public 
hearings will also be conducted on proposals to establish an American 
Samoa limited entry program, to exempt longline basket gear from 
seabird mitigation measures governing fishing gear requirements, and to 
remove the annual landing requirements for permit renewal in the NWHI 
bottomfish fishery.

DATES: The meetings and the hearings will be held during October 2001. 
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates, and times for the 
meetings and the hearings.

ADDRESSES: The meetings and the hearings will be held at the Hawaii 
Convention Center, 1801 Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815; telephone: 
808-943-3500.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Dates and Locations

Advisory Panels

    The Commercial, Recreational, Subsistence/Indigenous, and Ecosystem 
and Habitat sub-panels will meet jointly on Monday, October 22, 2001, 
from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon. Sub-panels will meet individually on Monday 
afternoon, October 22 and Tuesday, October 23, 2001, until 3 p.m. Sub-
panels will reconvene jointly from 3:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. to finalize 
recommendations. Public comment periods will be provided throughout the 
meetings. The order in which agenda items are addressed may change. The 
Advisory Panel (AP) will meet as late as necessary to complete 
scheduled business.
    The agenda for the AP meetings will include the items listed below:
    1. Welcome and introductions
    2. Status of AP recommendations
    3. Action items
    a. Pelagic framework measure for turtles
    b. Pelagic amendment for American Samoa limited entry program
    c. Pelagic framework measure for basket gear
    d. Precious coral framework measure for NWHI 250 nm Refuge
    e. Bottomfish amendment for NWHI management
    f. Community demonstration projects
    4. Saltonstall-Kennedy Funding
    5. NMFS research plans for the western Pacific region
    6. Break-out sub-panel sessions discuss issues and develop 
recommendations
    7. Joint panel meeting
    a. Jurisdictional Issues
    i. American Samoa Treaty/Deed of Cessation
    ii. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Covenant
    iii. Guam Organic Act
    iv. Kanaka Maoli (Hawaiian) sovereignty
    8. Joint panel session to review and finalize recommendations to 
the Council

Public Hearings

    Public hearings will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 25, 
2001, for final action implementing measures of the March 2001 
biological opinion (BO) on the western Pacific pelagic fisheries; at 
4:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 25, 2001, for initial action on NWHI 
bottomfish removal of annual landing requirements; and at 10 a.m. on 
Friday, October 26, 2001, for final action on a precious corals 
regulatory adjustment to establish a NWHI refuge area.

Committee Meetings

    The following Standing Committees of the Council will meet on 
October 23, 2001. Enforcement/Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) from 8 
a.m. to 10 a.m.; Fishery Rights of Indigenous People from 9 a.m. to 10 
a.m.; International Fisheries/Pelagics from 10 a.m. to 12 noon; 
Precious Corals from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.; Crustaceans from 1:30 p.m. to 
3 p.m.; Bottomfish from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m; Ecosystem and Habitat from 
3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Executive/Budget and Program from 4:30 p.m. to 
6 p.m.
    In addition, the Council will hear recommendations from its APs, 
plan teams, scientific and statistical committee, and other ad hoc 
groups. Public comment periods will be provided throughout the agenda. 
The order in which agenda items are addressed may change. The Council 
will meet as late as necessary to complete scheduled business.
    The agenda during the full Council meeting will include the items 
listed here:
    1. Introductions
    2. Approval of agenda
    3. Approval of 110th meeting minutes
    4. Island reports
    A. American Samoa
    B. Guam
    C. Hawaii
    D. CNMI
    5. Federal fishery agency and organization reports
    A. Department of Commerce (DOC)
    (1) NMFS
    (a) Southwest Region, Pacific Islands Area Office
    (b) Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla and Honolulu 
Laboratories
    (2) NOAA General Counsel, Southwest Region
    B. Department of the Interior (DOI)/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(USFWS)
    C. U.S. State Department (DOS)
    6. Pelagics
    A. Pacific Fishery Management Council Highly Migratory Species 
Fishery Management Plan
    B. Fish and Western Fish Boat Owners Association correspondence
    C. 2nd quarter 2001 Hawaii and American Samoa longline reports
    D. American Samoa
    (1) Longline fishery expansion in 2001 and management needs 
(limited entry program)
    (2) Pilot observer program
    E. Guest Speaker: Tim Park--Federated States of Micronesia Observer 
Program
    F. SAFE/Annual Report
    (1) Highly migratory species stock assessments
    G. Recreational fisheries reporting
    H. Status of litigation
    I. Sea Turtle conservation and management
    (1) Workshop
    (2) Research (progress since May 2001)
    a. Field studies

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    b. Population assessments (leatherbacks & other turtle species)
    c. Population modeling
    (3) FMP regulatory amendment implementing measures in March 2001 BO 
on western Pacific pelagic fisheries
    (4) Endangered Species Act section 6 grants program for turtle 
recovery
    J. Seabird conservation and management
    (1) USFWS short-tail albatross handling guidelines
    (2) 2nd International Fishers Forum
    (3) Underwater setting chute deployment in Hawaii longline fishery
    (4) Adjustment of seabird mitigation regulations to account for 
longline basket gear
    J. Supplemental pelagic environmental impact statement (EIS)for 
squid, seabirds, international management, purse seine tuna treaty
    K. Marine Mammal Protection Act List of Fisheries
    a. 2001 List of Fisheries
    b. NMFS Marine mammal research plan
    L. Impacts of closure of Suisan fish auction in Hilo
    M. Report on the 2001 Protected Species Workshops
    N. International Meetings (14th Standing Committee on Tuna and 
Billfish, 3rd Recreational Fisheries Symposium)
    O. Public hearing
    The Council will take final action on a framework regulatory 
amendment under the pelagic fishery management plan to implement 
management measures governing the protection of sea turtles. These 
measures, which are also contained in the preferred alternative of the 
NMFS Final Environmental Impact Statement (March 30, 2001), are in a 
March 29, 2001, BO issued by NMFS on the operation of the western 
Pacific pelagic fisheries managed by the Council. The Council's action 
will consider proposed rulemaking for a ban on swordfish-style longline 
fishing north of the equator, a requirement for all fishing vessels 
fishing for pelagic management unit species to carry line clippers and 
wire or bolt cutters used to remove fishing line or hooks from sea 
turtles, and other turtle mitigation measures promulgated as emergency 
interim regulations, published in the Federal Register on June 12, 
2001, at 66 FR 31561 for the Hawaii-based longline fishery.
    7. Enforcement
    A. U.S. Coast Guard activities
    B. NMFS activities
    C. Commonwealth, Territories, and State activities
    D. Status of violations
    8. VMS
    A. NMFS VMS report
    B. USCG expanded use of VMS information
    C. NWHI Reserve VMS pilot study
    9. NMFS Observer Program
    10. Monk Seals
    A. Status of revised recovery plan, delisting criteria and recovery 
team
    B. Report on NWHI shark activities
    (1) Great white shark
    (2) Culling
    C. Marine Mammal Research Program Quarterly Report
    1. Bottomfish fisheries
    A. NWHI Framework Action: removal of landing requirements
    B. Marine protected area closure effects on calculating spawning 
potential ratio, catch per unit of effort, etc.
    C. Status of Biological Opinion
    D. Status of Bottomfish Observer Program and data collection
    E. Status of Digital Video Observer Pilot Project
    F. Public hearing
    The Council will consider an amendment to its Fishery Management 
Plan for Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish Fisheries of the Western 
Pacific Region that would remove the annual landing requirements or 
permit renewal and prohibitions on the lease and charter of permits 
from the NWHI Ho'omalu and Mau zone management regimes. The Council 
expects that these removals will best address the key objectives to 
maintain opportunities for small scale fisheries, maintain availability 
of high-quality fresh bottomfish, and balance harvest capacity with 
harvestable fishery stocks. The basic approach is to structure the 
permit system so that evidence of participation is used for new entry 
and the total number of permits are maintained at target levels.
    12. Crustaceans Fisheries
    A. NMFS tagging research and modeling workshop
    B. 1999 Annual Report (SAFE)
    C. Public comment
    13. Precious Corals
    A. Review of Precious Corals framework regulatory adjustment
    B. Public hearing on framework regulatory amendment
    The Council proposes to restructure the management regime for the 
exploratory area to be based on current knowledge of the resource and 
industry practices. This will permit increased landings as well as 
reduce pressure on the known beds. The proposed measure would remove 
the 1,000-kg annual quota, and incorporate site-specific restrictions 
to allow sustainable harvest based on the size of the resource in a 
given area. The Council is also recommending the establishment of a 
250-nm precious coral refuge area in the NWHI. Compliance would be 
monitored through mandatory video taping of harvesting activities.
    14. Ecosystems and Habitat
    A. NMFS report on status of Coral Reef Ecosystem Fishery Management 
Plan
    B. State of Hawaii NWHI management plan and Memorandum of 
Understanding
    C. Essential fish habitat (EFH) requirements
    D. EFH consultations for Federal actions
    E. FWS Tern Island seawall environmental assessment
    F. Proposed invasive species mitigation measures (e.g., rats)
    G. Council Marine Protected Area policy development
    15. Fishery rights of indigenous people
    A. Marine conservation plans
    B. Community development program: Designation of American Samoa as 
a fishing community
    C. Community demonstration projects program
    (1) Council program
    (2) Grant application process
    D. Island workshops to discuss religious, cultural, and subsistence 
turtle takes
    E. Native observer program for Western Pacific fisheries
    16. Program Planning
    A. Program planning initiatives
    B. NMFS Research Plan for Western Pacific Region
    C. Education initiatives
    D. Report on the Regulatory Flexibility Act, Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), and 
National Environmental Policy Act workshop
    E. Status of Congressional legislation
    F. Digital video monitoring policy
    G. DOI/DOS/DOC Fisheries Policies Working Group
    17. Administrative matters
    A. Financial reports
    B. Administrative reports
    C. Upcoming meetings and workshops, including the 2002 Council 
meetings
    18. Election of officers

Other Business

    Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come 
before the Council for discussion, those issues may not be the subject 
of formal Council action during this meeting. Council action will be 
restricted to those issues specifically listed in this document and to 
any issue arising after

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publication of this document that requires emergency action under 
section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, provided that the public 
has been notified of the Council's intent to take final action to 
address the emergency.

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.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: October 3, 2001.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-25299 Filed 10-5-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S