[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 99 (Thursday, May 22, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 27969-27971]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-12743]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[I.D. 051503A]


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 and hearings.

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SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
Advisory Panels (APs) will meet on June 6 and 7, 2003, and the Council 
will hold its 118th meeting June 10 through 13, 2003, in Honolulu, HI. 
(see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific times, dates, and agenda 
items).

ADDRESSES: The AP meetings will be held at the Council Office 
Conference Room, 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI; telephone: 
808 522-8220. The Council meeting will be held at the Ala Moana Hotel, 
410 Atkinson Drive, Honolulu, HI; telephone: 808-955-4811.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Dates and Times

APs

    The Commercial, Recreational, Subsistence/Indigenous and Ecosystem 
and Habitat sub-panels will meet jointly on Friday, June 6, 2003, from 
8:30 a.m. to noon. Sub-panels will meet individually on Friday, June 6, 
2003, from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. and continue on Saturday, June 7, 2003, 
from 8:30

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a.m. to 12 noon. Panels will meet in a plenary session from 1:30 p.m. 
to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 7, to review recommendations. The agenda 
for the Advisory Panel meetings will include the items listed below. 
Public comment periods will be provided throughout the agenda. The 
order in which agenda items are addressed may change. The APs will meet 
as late as necessary to complete scheduled business.

Friday, June 6, 2003

    1. Welcome and introductions
    2. Status of previous advisory panel recommendations
    3. Overview of Council decision-making process
    4. Report from Island coordinators
    5. Report on oceanic conditions (water temperature) surrounding the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) archipelago
    6. Bottomfish fisheries
    A. Guam offshore bottomfish management
    B. Community demonstration project Mau Zone new entry criteria
    C. Bottomfish overfishing/overfished control rule
    D. Status of State of Hawaii bottomfish area closures
    7. Marine protected areas (MPAs)
    A. Establishing process for identifying reserve preservation areas 
in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI)
    B. Use of MPAs in fishery management (e.g. Hawaii legislature 
initiative, California Channel Islands and longline closures)
    C. Comments on reserve preservation areas in the NWHI.
    8. Pelagic fisheries
    A. Marlin management
    B. Seabird mitigation
    C. Sea Turtle mitigation
    D. Growing use of personal fish aggregation devises
    9. Small boat outreach issues
    10. Report on finfish farming
    11. Sub-panel break-out sessions to discuss issues and develop 
recommendations

Saturday, June 7, 2003

    12. Sub-panel break-out sessions continue from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon
    13. Joint panel session reconvenes at 1:30 p.m. to review and 
finalize recommendations to the Council

Committee Meetings

    The following Standing Committees of the Council will meet on June 
10, 2003. Enforcement/Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) from 7:30 a.m. to 
9 a.m.; Fishery Rights of Indigenous People from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.; 
International Fisheries/Pelagics from 9 a.m. to 12 noon; Bottomfish 
from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon; Ecosystem and Habitat from 1:30 p.m. to 3 
p.m.; Crustaceans 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 (PTs), scientific and statistical committees (SSCs), 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 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 12, 
2003, on the issues of management of marlin fisheries in Hawaii, and 
sea turtle conservation measures; at 11:30 a.m on Friday, June 13, 
2003, on the issuance of community development program (CDP) Mau Zone 
bottomfish permits; and at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, June 13, 2003, on 
managing Guam's offshore bottomfish fishery. The agenda during the full 
Council meeting will include the items listed here.

Wednesday, June 11, 2003

    1. Introductions
    2. Approval of Agenda
    3. Approval of 117th Meeting Minutes
    4. Island Reports
    A. American Samoa
    B. Guam
    C. Hawaii
    D. CNMI
    5. Regional constituent meeting with Bill Hogarth
    6. Reports from Federal fishery agencies and organizations
    A. Department of Commerce
    (1) NMFS
    (a) Pacific Islands Region
    (b) Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center
    (2) NOAA General Counsel, Pacific Islands Region
    (3) National Ocean Service (NOS)
    (a) National Marine Sanctuaries Program
    (b) Pacific Services Center
    B. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
    C. U.S. State Department
    7. 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 enforcement meeting
    (1) Outreach efforts
    (2) American Samoa vessel monitoring system costs
    (3) Electronic data reporting for Hawaii longline fleet
    8. Precious coral fisheries: Status of industry
    9. Crustaceans fisheries
    A. Main Hawaiian Islands lobster stock assessment
    B. Lobster tagging administrative report

Thursday, June 12, 2003

    Guest speaker: David Pauley: ``The Sea Around Us Project''
    10. Pelagic fisheries
    A. 2002 annual report
    B. Report on American Samoa scientific data collection project
    C. Report on Hawaii longline observer program
    D. Report on phase two of chute trials for seabird conservation
    E. Turtle conservation
    (1) Implementation plan for conservation activities
    (2) Fishery management alternatives (action item)
    F. Marlin management (Action item)
    G. Status of environmental impact statements (EISs)
    (1) Supplemental pelagic EIS
    (2) Main Hawaiian Islands turtle EIS
    (3) Observer program EIS
    (4) Turtle experiment EIS
    H. Small boat outreach issues
    I. International meetings and issues
    (1) FAO Committee on Fisheries meeting
    (2) NMFS turtle bycatch meeting
    (3) 23\rd\ turtle symposium
    J. Public hearing on turtle conservation measures, and on 
management of marlin fisheries in Hawaii. Current turtle conservation 
measures for turtles which interact with the Hawaii-based longline 
fishery include a complete closure of all shallow set swordfish target 
longline fishing north of the equator and a seasonal closure in April 
and May each year of fishing grounds south of the Hawaiian Islands 
(from 15[deg] N. lat. to the equator, and from 145[deg] W. long. to 
180[deg] long.). The Council will consider whether to amend the Fishery 
Management Plan for the Pelagics Fishery of the Western Pacific Region 
(Pelagics FMP) and eliminate the southern April/May closure, or to 
modify the closure so that some areas would remain open during April 
and May. The Council will take public comment on modifications to the 
current management regime before taking further action on this issue.
    The Council staff will consider a range of alternatives to address 
the fact that Pacific blue marlin landings are reportedly approaching 
maximum sustainable yield (MSY). Under new overfishing control rules 
recommended by the Council in its recent Sustainable

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Fisheries Act amendments, the Council will be required to reduce 
fishing mortality if overfishing is determined to be occurring, if the 
stock is determined to be overfished, or if the fishery is identified 
to be approaching an overfished condition. The degree to which fishing 
mortality by Council managed fisheries should be reduced is unclear 
given that these fisheries are a small percentage of Pacific-wide 
harvests. The Council will deliberate on the appropriate scale of 
response, and on the appropriate measures that it could adopt as a 
preferred alternative in an amendment to the Pelagics FMP, should this 
be required. The Council will take public comment on whether an 
amendment to the Pelagics FMP is necessary, and if so, what should be 
the preferred alternative in the amendment to the Pelagics FMP.
    11. Indigenous fishery rights
    A. Transmittal of Hawaii marine conservation plans
    B. Community demonstration projects program
    (1) Report on first solicitation
    (2) Report on 2nd Solicitation
    C. Mau Zone community development program (see bottomfish)
    D. Annual Report to Congress

Friday, June 13, 2003

    12. Ecosystems and Habitats
    A. Report on the NOS NWHI Reserve Science Workshop
    B. NMFS/Council NWHI symposium
    C. Report from Council MPAs working group
    D. Report on Secretariat of the Pacific Communities Coastal Fishery 
Management Meeting
    E. Report on the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Meeting
    (1) February 26 Meeting
    (2) Pacific coral reef fisheries management workshop
    F. Status of the Coral Reef Ecosystem Fishery Management Plan
    13. Bottomfish Fisheries
    A. 2002 Annual report modules
    B. Status of Main Hawaiian Island management program
    C. Overfishing control rule/MSY
    D. Report on NWHI bottomfish observer program
    E. New entry criteria for Mau Zone community development program 
bottomfish permits (Action item)
    F. Guam offshore bottomfish management (Action Item)
    G. Public hearing on final action for Mau Zone community 
development program bottomfish permits and Guam offshore bottomfish 
management.
    The Council will consider alternatives to take final action on a 
process for issuing NWHI Mau Zone bottomfish CDP permits. The 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 
described in a Federal Register document published on April 16, 2002 
(67 FR 18512). The Council's preferred alternative adopted by the 
Council at is 117\th\ meeting in Saipan on February 12, 2003, was 
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''. The revised 
framework regulatory amendment incorporates the CDP permit issuance 
process to be presented and considered for final action by the Council 
at this meeting.
    The Council will also consider alternatives and intends to take 
final action to manage Guam's offshore bottomfish fishery. The Council 
considered management alternatives at its 117th Council meeting in 
February 2003, and selected, as its preferred alternative, the option 
to prohibit targeting of bottomfish management unit species (BMUS) 
using vessels longer than 50 ft(15.24 m) that fish in Federal waters 
within 50 nautical miles from shore. In addition the preferred 
alternative would require Federal permits and reports for all vessels 
over 50 ft (15.24 m) in length that land BMUS in Guam.
    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 on Guam August 8, 2002 and February 8, 2003), 
indicate that the catch of fish by this new component may lead to 
localized overfishing of the bank area.
    14. Program Planning
    A. Legislation updates
    B. Status of Pacific Islands Region
    C. Pacific fishery management coordinating consultation
    D. Social science research planning
    E. Exclusive Economic Zone data collection
    F. Report on fishery data coordination committee meeting/WPacFIN
    15. Administrative matters
    A. Financial reports
    B. Administrative reports
    C. Upcoming meetings and workshops including the 119th Council 
meeting
    D. AP, SSC, PT and Sea turtle working group appointments
    16. 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: 1801 et seq.

    Dated: May 16, 2003.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-12743 Filed 5-21-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S