[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 19, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54799-54800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-15527]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 091306C]


Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will 
hold a public meeting to gather public comments on options to research 
and manage shark viewing operations in federal waters around Hawaii.

DATES: The meeting will be held on Thursday October 5, 2006, from 6 
p.m. to 9 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Haleiwa Elementary School, 
66-505 Haleiwa Rd., Haleiwa, HI 96712.
    Council address: Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, 1164 
Bishop Street, Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director; 
telephone: (808) 522-8220; fax: (808) 522-8226.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2001, commercial shark viewing operations 
began providing and promoting services to swim, dive and snorkel with 
sharks off the North Shore of Oahu. The operations essentially consist 
of deploying a protective cage into the water into which individuals 
enter while sharks swim freely outside of the cage. To keep sharks near 
the cage for viewing, tour operators often introduce chum (i.e. fish 
parts) into the water. In 2002, citing concerns of the risk to human 
safety, particularly, the potential increased risk of shark attacks on 
individuals not involved in shark feeding operations, the State of 
Hawaii promulgated regulations prohibiting the feeding of sharks for 
commercial purposes in state marine waters from 0 to three miles from 
shore. As a result of the State's law, commercial shark tour operations 
relocated into federal waters beyond three miles from shore where there 
are no rules or regulations in place to control this activity.
    Currently, the commercial shark viewing operations occur three to 
four miles offshore of Haleiwa, HI in waters approximately 400 to 600 
feet in depth. The precise locations are marked by buoys deployed by 
the tour operators. Species of sharks encountered during these 
operations include the galapagos shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis), the 
sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus), the hammerhead shark (Sphyrna 
spp.) and occasionally grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) 
and tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier).
    Presently, information on the effects of commercial shark viewing 
operations on shark behavior and ecology, fish habitat and other user 
groups are largely anecdotal. As a result, there remains great 
uncertainty regarding the potential impacts to humans as well as to 
shark populations and the health of the marine ecosystem in this area.
    The Council will convene a public meeting to gather public comments 
on options to research and manage shark viewing operations in federal 
waters around Hawaii. These include but are not limited to: (1) 
Conducting research on shark movement and behavior and population 
numbers in and around the North Shore of Oahu; (2) Recommending the 
State of Hawaii establish a moratorium on any new shark tour 
operations; (3) Establishing federal regulations for shark tour 
operations such as prohibiting or limiting the amount of chum that may 
be used, requiring shark tour operations to move further offshore, 
limiting the

[[Page 54800]]

number of shark tour operations; and (4) Banning on shark viewing 
operations in federal waters.
    Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come 
before this group for discussion, those issues may not be the subject 
of formal action during this meeting. Action will be restricted to 
those issues specifically identified in this notice and any issues 
arising after publication of this notice that require 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

    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, (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: September 14, 2006.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-15527 Filed 9-18-06; 8:45 am]
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