Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[I.D. 092499I]

Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting/public scoping hearing/public

hearings.

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SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery Council (Council) will hold its

101st meeting in Honolulu, HI. The Council expects to

initiate action on shark management and expects to adopt a draft Coral

Reef Ecosystem Fishery Management Plan (FMP) at this meeting. The

Council may take final action on regulatory amendments for precious

corals and incidental catch of seabirds in the Hawaii longline fishery.

A public hearing will be held on the management alternatives being

considered in the draft Coral Reef Ecosystem FMP of the U.S. Western

Pacific Region and being analyzed in associated documents, including a

Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). A public scoping hearing

on the intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will

be held on the Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish FMP.

DATES: The full Council meeting will be held on October 19-21, 1999.

The Council's Standing Committees will meet on October 18, 1999. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates and times for these

meetings.

ADDRESSES: The Council meeting will be held at the Lanai

Ballroom, Sheraton Waikiki Hotel, 2255 Kalakaua Ave., Honolulu, Phone:

(808) 922-4422.

Council address: Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, 1164

Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director;

telephone 808-522-8220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Dates and Times

Enforcement/Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00

a.m., International Fisheries/Pelagics Fisheries from 9:30 a.m. to

11:30 a.m., Bottomfish Fisheries from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.,

Ecosystem & Habitat from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., Native and Indigenous

Rights from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., Precious Corals Fisheries from 3:00

p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Crustaceans Fisheries from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 pm, and

Executive/Budget & Program from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The full Council

will meet on October 19, 20 and 21, 1999, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.,

each day. Public hearings will be conducted as follows: Draft Coral

Reef Ecosystem FMP/DEIS-October 19, 1999; regulatory amendment

governing incidental catch of seabirds in Hawaii longline fishery-

October 20, 1999; scoping on bottomfish FMP EIS-October 21, 1999; and

regulatory amendment for precious corals-October 21, 1999.

Agenda

The agenda during the full Council meeting will include the items

below. The order in which agenda items are addressed may change. The

Council will meet as late as necessary to complete scheduled business.

1. Introductions

2. Approval of Agenda

3. Approval of 100st Meeting Minutes

4. Island Reports

A. American Samoa

B. Guam

C. Hawaii

D. Northern Mariana Islands

5. Reports from Fishery Agencies and Organizations

A. Department of Commerce

(1) NMFS

(a) Southwest Region, Pacific Island Area Office

(b) Southwest Fisheries Science Center LaJolla and Honolulu

Laboratory

(2) NOAA General Counsel, Southwest Region

B. Department of the Interior

(1) Fish and Wildlife Service

6. Enforcement

A. Cooperative enforcement presentation to American Samoa B. U.S.

Coast Guard enforcement activities

C. NMFS enforcement activities and status of violations

[[Page 52762]]

D. Cooperative agreements for Guam

E. Illegal immigration related to the foreign fishing fleet

7. VMS

A. Hawaii VMS report

B. National VMS plans

8. Ecosystems and Habitat

A. Honolulu Lab Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) research

B. Draft coral reef ecosystem FMP/DEIS (Council will take initial

action to select preferred management alternatives and may direct staff

to finalize the draft FMP/DEIS for distribution for public review

(1) Introduction to the FMP

(2) Description of the fisheries

(3) Description of threats/management issues

(4) Management objectives, program and impacts

(a) Fishing permits (alternatives include, but are not limited to,

exploratory permit and reporting requirements, general permit based on

standard eligibility requirements, moratorium to prohibit all harvest

of coral reef species, and status quo (no action))

(b) Marine Protected Areas (alternatives include, but are not

limited to, candidate areas, such as remote U.S. atolls and the

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) shallower than 20 meters, or

status quo (no action))

(c) Restrictions of gear and methods (alternatives include, but are

not limited to, allow only selective, non-destructive gear and methods,

allow no gear or methods, allow use of other gears and/or methods,

restrict other methods and practices, or status quo (no action))

(d) Restrict harvest of a particular management unit species

(alternatives include, but are not limited to, restrict harvest of

corals and live rock, restrict harvest of other selected species,

restrict the harvest of all management unit species, or no restrictions

(no action))

(e) Framework provisions (alternatives include, but are not limited

to, establish a framework regulatory process with specified options for

future consideration, or status quo (no action))

(5) Description of resource ecosystem

(6) EFH

(7) Sustainable Fisheries Act determinations

(8) Relationship to existing laws and policies

(9) Future needs

(10) Plan Team recommendations

(11) Advisory Panel recommendations

(12) Science and Statistical Committee recommendations

(13) Public hearing on draft FMP/DEIS

9. Fishery Rights of Indigenous Peoples

A. Review of marine conservation plans. Council will review the

plan submitted by the Governor of Guam and any other plan submitted and

may take final action.

B. Status of community development program/demonstration projects

10. Pelagic FMP issues

A. 2nd quarter 1999 Hawaii and American Samoa longline

fishery report

B. Shark management

(1) Update on catch trends and NMFS shark studies

(2) Status of study of the cultural-historic significance of sharks

to the indigenous peoples of Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam and the

Northern Mariana Islands.

(3) Discussion of optimal utilization of sharks in the Western

Pacific, including transshipment of shark products. The increase in

shark finning has raised concerns about the perceived waste associated

with this practice. In addition, there are concerns about the impacts

of increased fishing pressure on shark stocks. The Council will discuss

various management options to address these issues and expects to

initiate action. Management options include, but are not limited to,

harvest quotas, size limits, finning restrictions, release conditions

and reporting requirements.

(4) Federal-State coordination in shark management in waters around

the Hawaiian Islands

C. Incidental catch of seabirds in the Hawaii longline fishery

(1) Update on catch trends and numbers

(2) Final report by Garcia and Associates on evaluation of

mitigation measures

(3) Final action on measures to reduce the incidental catch of

seabirds in the Hawaii longline fishery. The preferred action initially

identified by the Council at the June 16-18, 1999, Council meeting is

to require vessels with Hawaii Longline Limited Entry Permits operating

with longline gear above 25 deg. N. latitude to adhere to two or more

of the following measures to mitigate seabird-longline interactions:

(i) Maintain adequate quantities of blue dye on board and use only

completely thawed, blue-dyed bait; (ii) use strategic offal discards

while setting and hauling the line; (iii) tow a NMFS-approved deterrent

(such as a tori line or a buoy) while setting and hauling the line;

(iv) deploy line with a shooter, so that the line is set faster than

the vessel's speed; (v) ensure that weights greater than 45 grams are

attached to branch lines within 1 meter of each hook; and (vi) begin

setting at least 1 hour after sunset and complete setting at least 1

hour before sunrise, using minimal vessel lighting. In addition,

vessels would be required to make every reasonable effort to ensure

that birds brought onboard alive are released alive and that hooks are

removed without jeopardizing the life of the birds, and all vessel

captains must complete an annual protected species educational workshop

conducted by NMFS. Although these measures were identified as the

preferred actions, the other alternatives are still being analyzed and

considered. This will be the second meeting under the Council's two-

meeting framework process in the pelagics FMP for implementing ``new

management measures.'' The Council may take final action on the

proposed adjustments to the regulations implementing the FMP.

(4) Public hearing

D. Turtles-longline fishery interactions

(1) Update on interaction trends and numbers

(2) Update on interaction mitigation studies

(3) Outcome of recent litigation

E. Marine debris

F. International meetings

G. Recreational fisheries data task force

H. Science and Statistical Committee recommendations

11. Bottomfish FMP issues

A. Bottomfish FMP issues

(1) Update on status of activities

(a) Main Hawaiian Islands bottomfish meeting

(b) Need to prepare an EIS for Bottomfish FMP

(2) Public scoping hearing on Bottomfish FMP

B. Science and Statistical Committee recommendations

12. Precious corals FMP issues

A. A final action on adjustments to regulations implementing the

FMP regarding harvest quotas, definitions, size limits, gear

restrictions, bed classifications and reporting and recordkeeping

requirements. Recent research and surveys have provided new information

on precious corals in the waters around Hawaii, including information

on the size and condition of certain classified precious coral beds,

potential increases in fishing pressure on black corals, the presence

of a new precious coral bed near French Frigate Shoals and the possible

importance of precious coral beds as foraging areas for Hawaiian monk

seals. Based on a discussion of these issues at the 100th

Council meeting, the Council identified the following preferred

actions: Suspend the harvest quota for gold coral at the Makapu'u Bed

until additional information is available on the impact of harvesting

on subsequent recruitment of

[[Page 52763]]

gold coral at the Makapu'u Bed; redefine precious coral as precious

coral that has live coral polyps or tissue, and redefine dead precious

coral as precious coral that no longer has any live coral polyps or

tissue; apply size limits to live coral only; prohibit the harvest of

black coral unless it has attained either a minimum stem diameter of 1

inch (254 cm), measured 1 inch (254 cm) from the top of the living

holdfast, or a minimum height of 48 inches (cm), measured from the base

to the greatest vertical extremity of the colony; only selective gear

may be used to harvest precious corals from all permit areas; apply the

current size limit for pink coral to all permit areas; revise the

boundaries of Brooks Bank, Permit Area C-B-3, to include the area

within a radius of 2.5 nautical miles (nm) of a point 23 deg. 58.8' N

lat. and 166 deg. 42' W long., and change the harvest quota for pink

coral to 200 kg and suspend the harvest quota for gold coral until

additional scientific information becomes available on the impact of

harvesting gold coral on monk seal foraging habitat; classify the

newly-discovered FFS-Gold Pinnacles Bed as a conditional bed, Permit

Area C-B-5, which includes the area within a radius of 0.25 nm of a

point at 23 deg. 55' N lat. and 165 deg. 23.11' W long., and set the

annual harvest quota for all types of precious coral at zero until

additional information becomes available on the impact of harvesting

gold coral on monk seal foraging habitat; list all managed species of

precious corals on the NMFS Daily Precious Coral Harvest Log and

Precious Coral Sales Trip Report, and revise reporting and

recordkeeping requirements as follows: A permit holder shall, within 72

hours of landing, mail to NMFS Pacific Island Area Office (PIAO) a copy

of the NMFS Daily Precious Coral Harvest Log with complete information

including:

(1) Vessel information - (i) Name of vessel; (ii) Call sign of

vessel; and (iii) Permit number of vessel.

(2) Fishing information - (i) Beginning and ending time, and date,

of all dives, including the dives when no harvest is made; (ii)

beginning and ending position in degrees latitude and longitude of each

dive and distance traveled; (iii) maximum and minimum depth of each

dive; (iv) number of live and dead colonies harvested on each dive by

species; (v) weight of harvested coral on each dive by species, to the

nearest tenth of a kilogram (landed weight air dried for at least 24

hours); (vi) number of live and dead colonies damaged but not harvested

on each dive by species; (vii) method of harvest; and (viii)

observations that may be made about the habitat (current, bottom type,

bottom topography, bottom slope, etc.).

(3) Sale information - (i) Amount of coral sold (by species); (ii)

sale price; (iii) date of sale; and (iv) name(s) and address(es) of

buyer(s).

(4) Any other information specified in the permit. Any video tapes

made during harvest operations shall be made available to the NMFS PIAO

upon request. The video recording should continuously display date and

time. Although these measures were identified as the preferred actions,

the other alternatives are still being analyzed and considered. This

will be the second meeting under the Council's two-meeting framework

process in the Precious Corals FMP for implementing ``new management

measures.'' The Council may take final action on the proposed

adjustments to regulations implementing the FMP.

B. Plan Team recommendations

C. Science and Statistical Committee recommendations

D. Public Hearing

13. Crustaceans FMP issues

A. Crustaceans FMP issues (NWHI lobster fishery)

(1) Status of the fishery

(2) Public education project

(3) Necker Island refuge boundary

(4) Status of state regulations for NWHI import license

B. Science and Statistical Committee recommendations

C. Public comments

14. Program Planning

A. Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Management Act amendments

B. Carbon monoxide-treated tuna update

C. Food and Drug Administration Hazard Analysis Critical Control

Point requirements aboard vessels

D. Western Pacific Fisheries Information Network

E. Educational initiatives and technical reports

F. Science and Statistical Committee recommendations

15. Administrative Matters

A. Administrative reports

B. Meetings and workshops

C. 102nd Council Meeting

Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come

before this 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 Act,

provided the public has been notified of the Council's intent to take

final action to address the emergency.

16. Other Business

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 24, 1999.

Gary C. Matlock,

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries

Service.

[FR Doc. 99-25413 Filed 9-29-99; 8:45 am]

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