[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 189 (Thursday, September 30, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52759-52760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-25463]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[I.D. 092399D]
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 hearing.
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SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery Council (Council) will hold its
72nd meeting of its Scientific and Statistical Committee
(SSC) in Honolulu, HI. A public hearing will be held on the draft Coral
Reef Ecosystem Fishery Management Plan (FMP). 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 SSC meeting will be held on October 12-14, 1999, from 8:30
a.m. to 5:00 p.m., each day, except for the first day, which will start
at 9:00 a.m.
ADDRESSES: The 72th SSC meeting will be held at the Council
office conference room, 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI;
telephone: (808-522-8220).
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: The SSC will discuss and may make
recommendations to the Council on the agenda items listed here. The
order in which agenda items will be addressed are subject to change.
8:30 a.m. Tuesday, October 12, 1999
A. Draft Coral Reef Ecosystem FMP/Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(DEIS)
1. Introduction to the FMP
2. Description of the fisheries
3. Description of threats/management issues
4. Management objectives, program and impacts
a. Fishing permit (alternatives include, but are not limited to,
exploratory permit and reporting requirement, 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 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 options for future
consideration, or status quo (no action))
5. Description of resource ecosystem
6. Essential Fish Habitat
7. Sustainable Fishery Act determinations
8. Relationship to existing laws and policies
9. Future needs
10. Plan Team recommendations
11. Advisory Panel recommendations
12. Public hearing on draft FMP/DEIS
B. Bottomfish FMP issues
1. Update on status of activities
a. Main Hawaiian Islands bottomfish meeting
b. Need to prepare EIS for Bottomfish FMP
2. Public scoping hearing on Bottomfish FMP
C. Precious Corals FMP issues
1. Final action on adjustments to 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 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 (2.54 cm),
measured 1 inch (2.54 cm) from the top of the living holdfast, or a
minimum height of 48 inches (121.92 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 French Frigate Shoals-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
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damaged but not harvested on each dive, by species; (vii) method of
harvest; (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; (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.
Plan Team Recommendations
8:30 a.m. Wednesday, October 13, 1999
D. Pelagic FMP issues
1. 2nd quarter 1999 Hawaii and American Samoa longline
fishery report
2. Status of bigeye and yellowfin tuna tagging around the Hawaiian
Islands
3. Shark incidental catch in the Hawaii longline fishery
a. Update on catch trends and NMFS shark studies
b. Cultural study of sharks and shark fishing in Western Pacific
(WP) Region
c. Management of shark fishing in the WP Region
d. State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources and
Council action on sharks in Hawaii.
4. Seabird interactions in the Hawaii longline fishery
a. Update on trends and numbers
b. Mitigation project final draft
c. Final action on measures to reduce the incidental catch of
seabirds in the Hawaii longline fishery.
Based on a discussion of these issues at the 100th
Council meeting, the Council identified the following preferred
actions: Require vessels with Hawaii Longline Limited Entry Permits
operating with longline gear above 25 deg. N. lat. to adhere to two or
more of the following measures to mitigate seabird-longline
interactions: maintain adequate quantities of blue dye on board and use
only completely thawed, blue-dyed bait; use strategic offal discards
while setting and hauling the line; tow a NMFS-approved deterrent (such
as a tori line or a buoy) while setting and hauling the line; deploy
line with a shooter so that the line is set faster than the vessel's
speed; ensure that weights greater than 45 grams are attached to branch
lines within 1 meter of each hook; begin setting 1 hour after sunset
and complete setting 1 hour before sunrise, using minimal vessel
lighting. In addition, vessels must 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.
5. Turtles longline fishery interactions
a. Update on trends and numbers
b. Update on mitigation studies
c. Outcome of recent litigation
6. Marine debris
7. International meetings
8. Recreational fisheries data task force
8:30 am Thursday, October 14, 1999
E. Crustaceans FMP issues (NWHI lobster fishery)
1. Status of the fishery
2. Public Education Project
3. Status of state regulations for NWHI import license
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 Fishery
Conservation and Management Act, provided the public has been notified
of the Council's intent to take final action to address the emergency.
F. Other Business
List of authorized fishing gear/fisheries
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.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: September 27, 1999.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 99-25463 Filed 9-27-99; 4:56 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
