[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 51 (Tuesday, March 16, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 12303]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-5893]



[[Page 12303]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 030404A]


Fisheries off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; 
Western Pacific Crustacean Fisheries; 2004 Bank-specific Harvest 
Guidelines

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

ACTION: Notification of no harvest guidelines for crustaceans.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that annual harvest guidelines for the 
commercial lobster fishery in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) 
will not be issued for the year 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alvin Katekaru, NMFS Pacific Islands 
Regional Office, at 808-973-2937.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Fishery Management Plan for the 
Crustacean Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region, 50 CFR 
660.50(b)(2), NMFS is required to publish the harvest guidelines for 
lobster Permit Area 1 around the NWHI. The fishery has been closed 
since 2000. This action is (a) taken as a precautionary measure to 
prevent overfishing of the lobster resources; (b) in compliance with an 
order of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii to keep the 
crustacean fisheries closed until an environmental impact statement and 
a biological opinion have been prepared for the crustacean fisheries in 
the western Pacific region; and (c) consistent with Executive Orders 
13178 and 13196, issued in December 2000 and January 2001, that 
respectively, might be interpreted to close the NWHI crustacean 
fishery. NMFS announces that it will not be publishing any harvest 
guideline for this fishery for the year 2004 and no harvest of NWHI 
lobster resources will be allowed. NMFS intends to continue to conduct 
biological research on the status of the NWHI lobster resources and to 
examine the resulting data for indications as to the appropriate 
direction for future fishery management actions.

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

    Dated: March 10, 2004.
Alan D. Risenhover,
Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-5893 Filed 3-15-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S