[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 197 (Thursday, October 13, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59725-59726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-5592]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 100605D]


Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

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

ACTION: Notice; public meeting; public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will 
meet to discuss measures for reducing interactions between seabirds and 
longline fishing.

DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 1, 2005, at 12 
noon HST.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held via telephone conference call at 
the Council office, 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813; 
telephone: (808) 522-8220; fax: (808) 522-8226. The call-in number for 
the conference call is: (866) 867-8289, and the passcode is: 1683776.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The items of discussion in the Council 
meeting's agenda are as follows:

1. Pelagic Fisheries.

    On April 6, 2005, the Council transmitted to NMFS an amendment to 
the Council's Fishery Management Plan for Pelagic Fisheries in the 
Western Pacific (FMP), that recommended new measures for mitigating 
interactions between pelagic longline vessels and seabirds. This 
amendment would require all Hawaii-based longline fishing vessels to 
either (a) side-set (deploy longline gear from the side of the vessel 
rather than from the stern), or (b) use a combination of other 
mitigation measures to prevent seabirds (e.g., Laysan and black-footed 
albatrosses), from being accidentally hooked or entangled during 
fishing operations in certain areas. These measures would also reduce 
the potential for fishery interactions with endangered short-tailed 
albatrosses that are known to be in the area in which the fishery 
operates. On July 13, 2005, NMFS published a proposed rule (70 FR 
40302) with a request for public comments. Comments received indicated 
that modification of some aspects of the proposed measures should be 
considered, based on recent observer and experimental observations.
    Under the proposed rule, seabird mitigation measures would be 
required everywhere for Hawaii-based vessels using shallow-set longline 
fishing gear, and north of 23[deg]N latitude for Hawaii-based vessels 
using deep-set longline fishing gear. Operators of shallow-setting 
longline vessels that elect not to side-set would continue to be 
required

[[Page 59726]]

to use thawed, blue-dyed bait, to start and complete the setting 
process during the night (specifically to begin deployment of the gear 
no earlier than one hour after local sunset and to finish deployment no 
later than local sunrise), and to strategically discard fish offal 
(i.e., on the opposite side from where the longline is being set). 
Under the proposed rule, they would also be required to employ a bird 
scaring device, or tori line, in addition to the above measures.
    Public comments received on the proposed rule questioned the need 
to deploy tori lines on shallow-setting vessels. Also, recent analyses 
of information collected by Federal observers (required on all Hawaii-
based shallow-setting longline vessels) in the first half of 2005 found 
that seabird interaction rates during this time period were less than 
10% of the historical average. This appears to result from the night-
setting requirement established in 2004, and is consistent with earlier 
research results. The Council will, therefore, consider action to 
modify the proposed rule to remove the tori line requirement for these 
vessels.
    Under the proposed rule, 60 g (2.1 oz) weights would be required 
within one meter of each hook when side-setting. Public comments 
received during the development of the amendment and on the proposed 
rule indicated that there were serious safety concerns about the 
required use of these relatively large weights, although such weights 
are currently used on some vessels. Commenters stated that fishery 
participants can be and have been seriously injured or killed when 
struck by longline weights ricocheting from snapped lines. Although the 
original trials which led to the development of the amendment employed 
60 g weights, subsequent research found that the sink times of 40g and 
60 g weights differ by only a tenth of a second, suggesting that the 45 
g weights, which are most commonly employed in the Hawaii-based 
longline fishery, would not affect the efficacy of side-setting in 
minimizing seabird interactions. Therefore, the Council will also 
consider action to require weights of 45 g or heavier when side-
setting, instead of the 60 g weights included in the proposed rule.
    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.

2. Other Business.

    Although non-emergency issues that are 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 
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, telephone: (808) 522-8220, fax: 
(808) 522-8226, at least 5 working days prior to the meeting date.

    Dated: October 6, 2005.
Emily Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E5-5592 Filed 10-12-05; 8:45 am]
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