Meetings: Western Pacific Fishery Management Council,

[Federal Register: March 23, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 55)]

[Notices]

[Page 13971-13972]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr23mr99-40]

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 031199D]

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.

SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Pelagics Advisory Panel (AP) members will hold a meeting.

DATES: The meeting will be held April 14-15, 1999, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the The Ilikai Hotel, New Zealand Suite, 1777 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI 96815; telephone: (808) 949 3811.

Council address: Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1405, Honolulu, HI 96813.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The AP meeting will discuss and may make recommendations to the Council on the following agenda items:

1. Introduction and selection of AP Chairman

2. 1st quarter 1999 Hawaii and American Samoa longline fishery report;

3. Shark incidental catch in the Hawaii longline fishery and issues related to shark finning;

4. Status of Council and NMFS projects concerning mitigation of longline-seabird interactions in the Hawaii longline fishery;

5. Status of NMFS research on bycatch of turtles in the Hawaii longline fishery, and issues relating to legal action against NMFS concerning the current biological opinion for turtles;

6. Marine debris; sources and impacts on habitat and protected species;

7. Status of the area closure for large pelagic fishing vessels around the islands of American Samoa;

8. Progress of the Multi-lateral High Level Conference process to implement a management convention for tunas in the Central-West Pacific;

9. Update on issues relating to blue marlin, and blue marlin stock assessment;

10. Status of bigeye and yellowfin tuna tagging around the Hawaiian Islands;

11. Recreational fishery reporting and formation of a recreational fisheries data task force;

12. Review of Council program plan; and

13. Other business as required.

Although other issues not contained in this agenda may come before this group for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act,

[[Page 13972]]

those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this meeting. Action will be restricted to those issues specifically 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: March 17, 1999. Bruce C. Morehead, Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 99-7075Filed3-22-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-22-F