[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 34 (Friday, February 20, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 8612]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-4365]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 021398A]
Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public meetings.
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SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery Council (Council) will hold
meetings of its Bottomfish and Crustaceans Plan Teams in Honolulu, HI.
DATES: The Bottomfish Plan Team (BPT) meeting will be held on March 11-
13, 1998, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., each day. The Crustaceans Plan
Team (CPT) meeting will be held on March 17-19, 1998, from 8:30 a.m. to
5:00 p.m., each day.
ADDRESSES: Both meetings will be held at the Council office conference
room, 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI; telephone: (808)
522-8220.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director;
telephone: (808) 522-8220.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BPT will discuss and may make
recommendations to the Council on a draft comprehensive amendment to
implement new Sustainable Fishery Act (SFA) requirements (bycatch,
fishing sectors, fishing communities, overfishing, essential fish
habitat); a draft amendment with management options to restore
overfished Main Hawaiian Island (MHI) onaga and ehu, or address the
situation in other ways; and draft island-area modules for the 1997
bottomfish annual report. Other agenda items that the BPT will discuss
and may take action on include:
1. State and Federal research on MHI overfished bottomfish;
2. Possible addition of generic level management unit species to
the fishery management plan;
3. Improvements to annual report modules, including reconsideration
of geographic reporting of overfishing indicator;
4. Update on the status of the draft amendment for the limited
access program for the Mau Zone in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
(NWHI); and
5. Other business as required.
The CPT will discuss and make recommendations to the Council on a
draft comprehensive amendment to implement new SFA requirements
(bycatch, fishing sectors, fishing communities, overfishing, essential
fish habitat); the draft 1997 NWHI lobster annual report; and the
addition of new areas (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and
U.S. Possessions) to Permit Area 3.
Other agenda items that the CPT will discuss and may take action on
include:
1. Research and data collection plans for 1998;
2. Determination of the 1998 harvest guideline, including
estimation of exploitable population size and establishment of separate
bank quotas;
3. Status of framework regulatory changes: Vessel Monitoring System
vessel transit of 50 mile closed area, announce harvest guideline 28
February, add May to closed season for MHI Federal waters; and
4. Other business as required.
Although other issues not contained in this agenda may come before
these Teams for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, those issues may not be the
subject of formal action during these meetings. Action will be
restricted to those issues specifically identified in the agenda listed
in this notice.
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 meeting date.
Dated: February 13, 1998.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 98-4365 Filed 2-19-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
