[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 9 (Thursday, January 13, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2393-2394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-132]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 010705C]


Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting and 
Hearing

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting/public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will 
meet by conference call in January 2005. During the meeting the Council 
will consider revising the regulatory amendment under the Fishery 
Management Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific concerning 
measures to conserve sea turtles. The Council will also consider 
whether certain exemptions from the use of long-handled dehookers 
should be provided for particular small longliners when fishing north 
of the equator. More specific agenda topics are provided under the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

DATES: The Council meeting will be held on January 26, 2005, beginning 
at 1 p.m. Hawaii-Aleutian standard time and concluding when all 
business items have concluded. The public hearing will be held during 
the Council meeting to give the public opportunity to comment.

ADDRESSES: The Council will meet via conference call. The public is 
invited to participate at the Council office: 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 
1400, Honolulu, HI 96813; telephone: (808) 522-8220; fax: 808-522-8226.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    At its 123rd meeting, the Council took final action and recommended 
that the requirements summarized under Agenda Topics (below) be 
implemented by a regulatory amendment under the Fishery Management Plan 
for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific containing additional 
measures to conserve sea turtles.

Agenda Topics

    1. Operators and owners of longline vessels operating under general 
permits (vessels registered to general longline permits and those that 
in the future will be registered to American Samoa limited access 
longline permits) must annually attend a NMFS Protected Species 
Workshop - with consideration of mechanisms for remote attendance.
    2. Longline vessels operating under general permits must carry and 
use dip nets, line clippers, and bolt cutters and follow resuscitation 
and release guidelines for accidentally caught turtles - with an 
exemption for small longliners (those with a freeboard of 3 feet (0.91 
meters) or less) from the requirement to carry and use long-handled 
line clippers.

[[Page 2394]]

    3. Non-longline fishing vessels targeting Pacific pelagic 
management unit species with hooks must remove trailing gear from 
accidently caught turtles and follow turtle resuscitation and release 
guidelines, wherever they fish.
    4. Longline vessels operating under general permits must use circle 
hooks, mackerel-type bait and dehookers, when shallow-setting north of 
the equator.
    During the preparation of an upcoming proposed rule for the 
regulatory amendment, it was noted that the amendment's text would 
require turtle handling practices by operators of non-longline pelagic 
fishing vessels as described in 50 CFR 223.206(d)(1)(i), (ii) and 
(iii). However the most recent Biological Opinion (BiOp) issued by NMFS 
for the Western Pacific Pelagic Fisheries on February 24, 2004, directs 
that these vessel operators use the handling practices described in 50 
CFR 660.32(c) and (d), in addition to those described in 50 CFR 
223.206(d)(1)(iii). Although the differences are minor, the Council 
intends to consider revising the regulatory amendment's text to reflect 
the latter practices so as to be consistent with the February 2004 
BiOp.
    The Council's regulatory amendment would also require operators of 
all longline vessels to carry and use long-handled dehookers to release 
turtles, when fishing north of the equator. Small longliners are 
exempted from using long-handled line clippers based on concerns that 
using long-handled line clippers on these small vessels would be 
unwieldy and could pose a hazard to sea turtles. The Council will 
therefore consider whether a similar exemption from the use of long-
handled dehookers should be provided for these small longliners when 
fishing north of the equator.
    A public hearing will be held during the Council meeting to give 
the public opportunity to comment before the Council takes action on 
this agenda item.

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 publication of this document that requires 
emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management 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 (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT) at least five days prior to the meeting date.

    Dated: January 10, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E5-132 Filed 1-12-05; 8:45 am]
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