Federal Register: October 25, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 205)Proposed RulesPage 61597-61599From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

I.D. 101805DWestern Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings

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

ACTION: Notice of public meetings and hearings.

SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold its 129th meeting to consider and take actions on fishery management issues in the Western Pacific Region.

DATES: The 129th Council meeting and public hearings will be held on November 8-11, 2005. For specific times, and the agenda, see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: The 129th Council meeting and public hearings will be held at the Hilton Guam, 202 Hilton Road, Tumon Bay, Guam; telephone: 671- 646-1835.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In addition to the agenda items listed here, the Council will hear recommendations from other Council advisory groups. Public comment periods will be provided throughout the agenda. The order in which agenda items are addressed may change. The Council will meet as late as necessary to complete scheduled business.

Schedule and Agenda for Council Standing Committee Meetings

Tuesday, November 8, 2005

Standing Committee

7-8 a.m. Ecosystem and Habitat Standing Committee

8-9 a.m. Pelagics and International Standing Committee

9-11 a.m. Executive and Budget Standing Committee

11 a.m.-12 noon Precious Corals Standing Committee

Schedule and Agenda for Public Hearings

Wednesday, November 9, 2005

1:30 p.m. Hawaii Black Coral Management

Thursday, November 10, 2005

11:30 a.m. Management of Hawaii Longline Swordfish Fishery

11:45 a.m. Management to address overfishing of Western and Central Pacific Ocean Yellowfin

Friday, November 11, 2005

11:30 a.m. Western Pacific Fishery Ecosystem Plans

11:45 a.m. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Fishery Ecosystem Plan Pilot Project

For more information on public hearing items, see Background Information.

The agenda during the full Council meeting will include the items listed here.

Schedule and Agenda for Council Meeting

8 a.m.-2:15 p.m. Wednesday, November 9, 2005

1. Opening Ceremony 2. Greetings from the Governor of Guam 3. Presentations to Ecosystem Poster Contest Winners 4. Introductions 5. Approval of agenda 6. Approval of 127th and 128th meeting minutes 7. Island reports

A. American Samoa

B. Guam

C. Hawaii

D. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) 8. Reports from fishery agencies and organizations

A. NMFS

1. Pacific Islands Regional Office

a. Report on Observer Placement Protocol

2. Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

B. The Department of the Interior - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)

C. NOAA General Counsel Southwest Region/Pacific Islands Region

D. State Department 9. Enforcement/vessel monitoring systems

A. Report on United States Coast Guard activities

B. NOAA Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) Activities

C. Status of Violations

D. Report from Guam Enforcement Agency 10. Fishery Rights of Indigenous Peoples

A. Guam voluntary data collection program

B. Community Demonstration Projects Program

1. Guam Longline Project

2. CNMI Remote Fishing Stations

C. Communities Program

D. Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) Recommendations 11. Bottomfish Fisheries

A. Report on Guam Bottomfish Fishery

B. Main Hawaiian Islands Bottomfish Overfishing Options

C. Plan Team Comments

D. SSC Recommendations 12. Precious Coral Fisheries

A. Black Coral Management and Research

1. Hawaii Black Coral Management

a. State of Hawaii Black Coral Research

b. Black Coral Management Options (Final Action)

B. Plan Team Recommendations

C. SSC Recommendations

D. Standing Committee Recommendations

E. Public Hearing on Hawaii Black Coral Management 13. Crustacean Fisheries

A. Report on Guam's Crustacean Fishery

B. Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Spiny Lobster Model Report

C. Plan Team Recommendations

D. SSC Recommendations

8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday, November 10, 2005

14. Pelagic/International Fisheries

A. Report on Guam's Pelagic Fisheries

B. Pelagic Fishery Management Plan Actions

1. Management of Hawaii Longline Swordfish Fishery (Initial Action)

2. Overfishing of Western and Central Pacific Ocean Yellowfin (Initial Action)

3. Management of Fish Aggregation Devices (FAD)

4. Definition of short-longlines

5. Main Hawaiian Islands Longline buffer zones

6. American Samoa FAD closures

C. International Fisheries Management

1. Inter-American Tropical Tuna Convention

2. Western and Central Pacific Fishery Commission

3. Pacific Islands Regional Office International Division Activities

4. Other International issues: Eastern Pacific Ocean Yellowfin and North Pacific Albacore Stock Condition

D. American Samoa and Hawaii Longline Fisheries Quarterly Reports

E. Plan Team Recommendations

F. SSC Recommendations

F. Standing Committee Recommendations

G. Public Hearings

Management of Hawaii Longline Swordfish Fishery (Initial Action)

Overfishing of Western and Central Pacific Ocean Yellowfin (Initial Action) 15. Protected Species

A. International Fishers Forum III

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B. Malaysia Longline Bycatch Workshop

C. Haggan (Turtle) Watch Program

D. CNMI Turtle Watch Program

E. Longline Mitigation Research

F. SSC Recommendations 16. Ecosystems and Habitat

A. Western Pacific Fishery Ecosystem Plans (FEP)(FINAL ACTION)

1. FEP Objectives

2. FEP Boundaries

3. FEP Management Unit Species

4. FEP Regional Coordination

B. CNMI FEP Pilot Project (Initial Action)

1. Project Overview

2. Ecosystem Indicators

3. Commonwealth and Guam Inshore Community-based Initiatives

4. Guam Offshore Banks Management Options

C. Public Comment

6:30-9 p.m. Thursday November 10, 2005

Fishers Forum at the Guam Fishermen's Cooperative

8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, November 11, 2005

Ecosystems and Habitat Continued

D. Report on Guam's Coral Reef Fisheries

E. Guam Reef Ecosystem Annual Report

F. Reconstruction of Coral Reef and Bottomfish Catches

G. CNMI Sanctuary Program

H. National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP)

1. NMSP Report

2. NOAA Review of Council Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Draft Fishing Regulations

I. Report from Plan Teams

J. SSC recommendations

K. Standing Committee Recommendations

L. Public Hearing on Western Pacific Ecosystem Plans and CNMI Pilot Project. 17. Program Planning

A. Update on Legislation

B. Magnuson-Steven Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson Act) Reauthorization

C. Education and Outreach Report 18. Administrative Matters and Budget

A. Financial Reports

B. Administrative Report

C. Meetings and Workshops

D. Advisory Group Changes

E. Standing Committee Recommendations 19. Other Business

A. National Plan of Action on Fishing Capacity

B. Next Meeting

Background Information

1. Change in the Black Coral Harvest Minimum Size (Final action)

The Council will take final action to implement a regulatory amendment to the Precious Corals FMP to revise the minimum harvest size for black corals (Antipathes sp.) due to the effects of Carijoa riisei and harvest pressure on black corals in the Main Hawaiian Islands. Based on comments received during Precious Coral Plan Team meetings, as well as subsequent SSC, Council, and public working group meetings, the Council developed an options document that includes: (1) Removing the exemption allowing harvest of black corals with a minimum base diameter of 3/4 inch (1.905-cm) or minimum height of 36 inches (0.9144 m) by persons who reported harvest to the State of Hawaii within five years prior to April 17, 2002; (2) Establishing a 48-inch (1.2192-m) minimum height only requirement for harvest of black coral colonies; (3) Eliminating any minimum base diameter requirement; (4) Eliminating any minimum height requirement; (5) Removing the exemption and minimum base diameter requirement; (6) Removing the exemption and minimum height requirement; and (7) Instituting a moratorium on black coral harvest. At its 127th meeting, the Council took initial action to identify and support a range of alternatives, including the selection of a preliminary preferred alternative. The Council's preliminary preferred alternative was to remove the exemption allowing harvest of black corals with a minimum base diameter of 3/4 inch (1.905-cm) or minimum height of 36 inches(0.9144 m) by persons who reported harvest to the State of Hawaii within five years prior to April 17, 2002. Under this alternative, all black coral would be harvested at a minimum base size of 1-inch or minimum height of 48 inches (1.2192-cm). At the 129th Council Meeting, the Council will select a preferred alternative to be analyzed in a regulatory amendment to be transmitted to NMFS.

2. Management of Hawaii Longline Swordfish Fishery (Initial action)

The swordfish segment of the Hawaii longline fishery was reopened in April 2004, following an amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for the Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (Pelagics FMP) to introduce new technology for turtle conservation. The Pelagics FMP amendment required all longliners fishing for swordfish, employing shallow (