[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 19 (Wednesday, January 29, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4441-4443]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-1976]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[I.D. 011303A]


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 will meet in 
February (see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific times, dates, and 
agenda items).

ADDRESSES: The Council meeting will be held at the Governor Pedro P. 
Tenorio Multipurpose Center, Office of the Governor, Susupe, P.O. Box 
10007, Saipan, MP 96950; telephone: 670-664-1014.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 4442]]

Dates and Times

Committee Meetings

    The following Standing Committees of the Council will meet on 
February 11, 2003. Enforcement/Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) from 7:30 
a.m. to 9 a.m.; Fishery Rights of Indigenous People from 9 a.m. to 10 
a.m.; International Fisheries/Pelagics from 9 a.m. to 12 noon; 
Bottomfish from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Ecosystem and Habitat from 2:30 
p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Executive/Budget and Program from 4:30 p.m. to 
5:30 p.m.
    In addition, the Council will hear recommendations from its 
Scientific and Statistical committee (SSC), 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.

Public Hearings

    Public hearings will be held at 4:30 p.m on Wednesday, February 12, 
2003, on the issuance of Community Development Program (CDP) Mau Zone 
bottomfish permits; at 11 a.m. on Thursday, February 13, 2003, on line 
clippers/bolt cutters, turtle mitigation, southern area closure, 
seabird mitigation, and longline setting chute; and at 2 p.m. on 
Thursday, February 13, 2002, on managing Guam's offshore bottomfish 
fishery. 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:
Wednesday, February 12, 2003
    1. Introductions
    2. Approval of Agenda
    3. Approval of 115th and 116th meeting minutes
    4. Island reports
    A. American Samoa
    B. Guam
    C. Hawaii
    D. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)
    5. Federal fishery agency and organization reports
    A. Department of Commerce
    (1) NMFS
    (a) Southwest Region, Pacific Island Area Office (PIAO)
    (b) Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla and Honolulu 
Laboratories
    (2) NOAA General Counsel, Southwest Region
    (3) National Ocean Service (NOS), National Marine Sanctuaries
    (4) NOS, Pacific Services Center
    B. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(USFWS)
    C. U.S. State Department
    6. Enforcement and VMS
    A. U.S. Coast Guard activities
    B. NMFS activities
    C. Enforcement activities of local agencies
    D. Status of violations
    E. Report on safety workshop
    7. Observer and monitoring programs
    A. NMFS, PIAO
    (1) American Samoa longline fishery
    (2) Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) bottomfish fishery
    (3) Hawaii longline fishery
    B. Native Observer Program
    8. Crustaceans fisheries
    A. Report on CNMI crustacean fisheries
    9. Ecosystems and Habitats
    A. CNMI reef fish commercial catch data
    B. Report on U.S. Coral Reef Task Force
    C. Marianas coral reef survey
    D. Report on marine protected areas working group
    10. Fishery rights of indigenous people
    A. Review Hawaii marine conservation plan
    B. Report on Community demonstration projects program
    (1) Report on first solicitation
    (2) Report on second solicitation
    C. CDP, Mau Zone bottomfish permits
    D. Public hearing on issuance process for Mau Zone bottomfish 
permits
    The Council will consider alternatives to take initial action on a 
process for issuing NWHI Mau Zone bottomfish CDP permits. Three 
alternatives to be considered for selecting participants for the 
program include a random selection process (lottery), a weighted point 
system, and evaluation criteria. Each alternative will be used in 
concert with the Western Pacific Community eligibility criteria as 
published in the Federal Register on April 16, 2002 (67 FR 18512). The 
Council's preferred alternative adopted by the Council will be 
incorporated into the existing draft framework amendment ``Measure to 
Establish Eligibility Criteria for New Entry into the Northwestern 
Hawaiian Islands Mau Zone Limited Access System''. A revised framework 
regulatory amendment, incorporating a CDP permit issuance process, will 
be presented to the Council for final action at a subsequent Council 
meeting in 2003.
Thursday, February 13, 2002
    11. Pelagic Fisheries
    A. Quarterly 2002 Hawaii and American Samoa longline reports
    B. American Samoa limited entry program
    C. Recreational fisheries
    (1) CNMI recreational fisheries
    (2) RECFISH 2003
    D. Bycatch conservation and management
    (1) Honolulu lab mitigation turtle research
    (2) Southern longline closure
    On June 12, 2002, a final rule was published that implemented the 
reasonable and prudent alternative (RPA) of a Biological Opinion issued 
by NMFS on March 29, 2001. The Biological Opinion concluded that the 
actions of the Hawaii-based longline fleet were likely to jeopardize 
the continued existence of Pacific populations of green, loggerhead and 
leatherback turtles. One of the measures included in the reasonable and 
prudent alternatives for the fishery to operate without jeopardy was a 
closure of southern fishing grounds below 15[deg] N. lat. during the 
months of April and May. The April and May closure denied access to the 
Hawaii-based longline fleet to grounds at a time when tuna were 
seasonally abundant. While some form of seasonal area closure may need 
to remain in effect, there may be options for a more limited closure 
that would have the same turtle conservation effects as the current 
large-scale closure, but be less onerous for the Hawaii-based longline 
fleet. The Council will consider alternatives for modifying the 
seasonal area closure and may take preliminary action at this meeting. 
Public comment will be solicited from the public prior to the Council's 
decision.
    (3) Line clippers/bolt cutters
    On November 15, 2002, NMFS issued a new Biological Opinion for the 
operation of pelagic fisheries in the Western Pacific Region and 
interactions with turtle and marine mammal species protected under the 
Endangered Species Act. The 2002 Biological Opinion does not contain 
any new requirements for pelagic fishing vessels, however it does 
appear to remove requirements for non-longline vessels to carry line 
clippers and bolt cutters, as well as adjusting handling requirements 
for longline vessel operators that encounter sea turtles. A range of 
options are available to the Council in response to the change in 
requirements that has resulted from the issuance of this new Biological 
Opinion. These include maintaining the current non-longline vessel 
requirements for line clippers, bolt cutters, and sea turtle handling 
procedures for longline vessels; or adjusting the non-longline 
requirements for line clippers and bolt cutters, and the sea turtle 
handling procedures for longline boats. At the 116th Council meeting, 
the Council took preliminary

[[Page 4443]]

action on a preferred alternative to remove requirements for line 
clippers and bolt cutters, and to clarify the sea turtle handling 
procedures for longline boats. The Council may take final action on 
this preferred alternative, and comments from the public will be 
solicited prior to the Council's decision.
    (4) Report on CNMI turtles
    (5) Longline setting chute
    On June 12, 2001, a final rule was published implementing the terms 
and conditions of a Biological Opinion issued by the USFWS on November 
28, 2000. These measures apply to all Hawaii-based longline vessels and 
consist of the following requirements: When fishing above 23[deg] N. 
lat., vessel operators must: completely thaw and dye all bait blue 
before using it; discharge spent bait and fish parts to distract 
seabirds while setting or hauling the gear (strategic offal discard); 
use a line shooter or line setting machine with weighted branch lines 
to set the gear; follow handling guidelines for seabirds hooked or 
entangled in fishing gear. On November 18, 2002, the USFWS issued a new 
Biological Opinion. This new Biological Opinion does not add or delete 
any measures. However, it does include a conservation recommendation 
stating that the FWS will consider the use of underwater setting chute 
as a seabird mitigation measure after the device is used voluntarily 
and successfully on Hawaii-based longline vessels. The new Biological 
Opinion also states that the blue dyed bait requirement will be 
reconsidered if it is shown that it does not provide additional 
protection to seabirds. Results of recent trials with an underwater 
setting chute on an Hawaiian longline vessel in 2002 showed that the 
device is virtually 100 percent effective in eliminating interactions 
between seabirds and the Hawaii-based longline fishery when used with a 
line shooter and weighted branch lines. Given the success of this new 
technology, a range of options is available to the Council to re-
address the issue of seabird interactions with this fishery. These 
include: maintaining all current requirements; adding an option to use 
underwater setting chutes when fishing north of 23[deg] N. lat. 
(keeping requirements for blue dyed bait, strategic offal discards and 
handling guidelines); or adding an option to use underwater setting 
chutes when fishing north of 23[deg] N. lat. instead of blue dyed bait, 
and strategic offal discards when setting (keeping handling guidelines 
and requirements to use strategic offal discards when hauling). The 
Council may take preliminary action and select a preferred alternative 
at this Council meeting. Comments will be solicited from the public 
prior to the Council's decision.
    (6) Litigation
    E. International Fishers Forum
    F. Public hearing on regulatory changes for line clippers and bolt 
cutters
    12. Bottomfish
    A. Report on CNMI fisheries
    B. Guam offshore bottomfish management
    C. Public hearing on Guam offshore bottomfish management
    The Council will consider alternatives and intends to take initial 
action to manage Guam's offshore bottomfish fishery. The Council 
considered preliminary considered management options at its 115th 
Council meeting in October 2002, and will be presented revised options 
including an alternative to prohibit harvest of bottomfish management 
unit species (BMUS) on vessels longer than 42 ft (12.8 m) that fish in 
Federal waters within 50 miles from shore. The Council also intends to 
consider requiring Federal permits and reports for vessels over 42 ft 
(12.8 m) in length that harvest bottomfish management unit species 
(BMUS).
    Recent entry of larger vessels into the Guam bottomfish fishery has 
raised concerns regarding data collection gaps and resource status. 
These vessels harvest deep-slope species on offshore seamounts (or 
``banks'') in Federal waters, land the bottomfish at Guam's commercial 
port, and export the bottomfish to Japan. Neither the level of fishing 
effort nor the amount of bottomfish harvested, which is believed to 
have started in 2001, is known. Guam's creel survey does not cover fish 
landed at the commercial port and the exported fish are not sold 
through any establishments that participate in the voluntary sales 
ticket monitoring program. Onaga (Etelis coruscans) appears to be the 
primary species that is targeted.
    The southern banks have been fished for many years by Guam-based 
bottomfish fishermen using smaller vessels that engage in a mix of 
subsistence, recreational, and small-scale commercial fishing, 
particularly in the summer months, when weather conditions tend to be 
calmer. Most of the vessels fishing on the southern banks target the 
shallow-water bottomfish complex, but some target the deep-water 
complex.
    It is unknown at this time whether the new component of the fishery 
is having significant impacts on marine resources. Initial discussions 
with fishery managers and Guam's fishing community (through a public 
scoping meeting held in Guam August 8, 2002) indicate that the catch of 
fish by this new component may lead to localized overfishing of the 
bank area.
    The Council will also consider additional options to expand the 
action to include targeting pelagic management unit species (PMUS). 
Larger vessels targeting PMUS in the EEZ surrounding Guam must also 
land fish in the commercial port due to the smaller harbors' inability 
to accommodate such large vessels. The same issues regarding harbors' 
collecting data from large bottomfish vessels apply to large vessels 
targeting and landing other species, such as pelagics.
    12. Program planning
    A. Legislation
    B. NOAA Pacific Island Region
    C. Cooperative research
    D. Council program
    E. Social science research planning
    F. Indigenous working group
    13. Administrative matters
    A. Financial reports
    B. Administrative reports
    C. Upcoming meetings and workshops
    D. Advisory Panel, SSC, Plan Team, NWHI Reserve and Sea Turtle 
Working Group Appointments
    14. 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 any 
issue arising after publication of this document that requires 
emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act, provided the public has been notified 
of the Council's intent to take final action to address the emergency.

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 the meeting 
date.

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

    Dated: January 23, 2003.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-1976 Filed 1-28-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S