Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

June 15, 1999

7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.--Enforcement/Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.--International Fisheries/Pelagics Fisheries 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.--Bottomfish Fisheries 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.--Ecosystem & Habitat 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.--Native and Indigenous Rights 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.--Precious Corals Fisheries 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. -- Crustaceans Fisheries, and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. -- Executive/Budget & Program. The full Council will meet on June 16, 17 and 18, 1999, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., each day.

June 16-18, 1999

The agenda during the full Council meeting will include the items here. The order in which agenda items will be addressed can change. The Council will meet as late as necessary to complete its scheduled business. 1. Introductions 2. Approval of Agenda 3. Approval of 99th Meeting Minutes 4. Island Reports A. American Samoa B. Guam C. Hawaii D. Northern Mariana Islands (NMI) 5. Enforcement A. U.S. Coast Guard enforcement activities B. NMFS enforcement activities and status of violations C. Cooperative agreements for Guam D. Illegal immigration related to the foreign fishing fleet E. Update on U.S. Customs harassment of fishermen 6. VMS A. Hawaii VMS report B. Report on Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee meeting C. Report on Forum Fisheries Agency Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Working Group Meeting D. Advisory Panel recommendations regarding VMS 7. Ecosystems and Habitat A. Draft Coral Reef Ecosystem Fishery Management Plan (FMP), including review of first draft and representative maps for Essential Fish Habitat. The Council may take initial action to select preferred management alternatives for various permit requirements, prohibitions, allowable practices, marine protected areas and framework process; preliminary identification of management unit species/taxa, management unit areas, essential fish habitat and habitat areas of particular concern. B. Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) recommendations 8. Native and Indigenous Rights issues A. Marine conservation plans for American Samoa and Guam B. Native and Indigenous Rights Advisory Panel recommendations relating to an amendment to the Endangered Species Act so that a take of green sea turtles for cultural purposes is permitted in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam and the NMI; set aside for Western Pacific Community Development Programs consisting of 30 Hawaii longline limited access permits and/or 20 percent of the annual harvest guideline for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) lobster fishery; and an amendment to the Magnuson-Stevens Act which would require that representatives of the indigenous peoples of the Western Pacific be appointed to the Council. 9. Pelagic FMP issues A. 1st quarter reports for Hawaii and American Samoa longline fisheries B. Akule and opelu study C. Yellowfin and bigeye tagging in Hawaii D. Council authority with respect to remote Pacific insular areas E. Issues relating to shark incidental catch and shark finning/ utilization in the Hawaii-based longline fishery F. The Council will assess whether the bottom longline gear currently being used to harvest coastal sharks in Hawaii is detrimental to conservation and management efforts. The Council may decide to proceed with further action concerning the use of this gear. G. Albatross/longline interactions in the Hawaii-based longline fishery, including the recommendations from the 1998 Blackfooted Albatross Population Dynamics Workshop. The Council will review the results of NMFS and Council longline-albatross

mitigation projects and discuss which mitigation measures are most appropriate for the Hawaii-based longline fishery. This will be the first meeting under the Council's two-meeting framework process for implementing ``new management measures.'' While final action will not be taken, the Council might adopt a preferred alternative. H. Turtle/longline interactions; including effective alternatives to mitigate longline-turtle interactions in the Hawaii-based longline fishery I. International meetings J. Recreational fisheries data task force K. Final action on Data Regulatory Amendment. The Council is considering final action on a comprehensive permit and logbook requirement for all non-longline vessels harvesting pelagic management unit species in the exclusive economic zone waters off Howland Island, Baker Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Midway Island, Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island. Further, vessels holding a Hawaii longline limited access or longline general permit might be required to submit a logbook to NMFS regardless of the port of landing in the Pacific region. This meeting shall serve as a public hearing for the proposed Council action. This is the second Council meeting considering this ``new measure'' under the Pelagics FMP's framework procedure. L. Pelagic Advisory Panel recommendations relating to enforcement and vessel monitoring systems on domestic and foreign fishing boats; management initiatives for the American Samoa longline fishery; international management of tunas in the Central-West Pacific and reduction of bycatch of small tunas in Pacific purse seine fisheries; incidental longline catches of billfish and use of archival tagging for management data, management of shark fishing and marketing of shark products, pelagic fisheries interactions; use of circle hooks to reduce bycatch of protected species in the Hawaii longline fishery; economic impact analysis of recreational fisheries in the Western Pacific Region, studies on effect of blue dyed bait on longline catch rates. M. Pelagic Plan Team recommendations N. SSC recommendations 10. Bottomfish FMP issues A. Overview of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Mau Zone limited entry program B. Hoomalu Zone permit review C. 1998 draft bottomfish annual report recommendations D. Report on state bottomfish management in Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), including status of Federal list of overfished stocks, final report on genetic stock structure of onaga and ehu, genetic research needs for hapu'upu'u E. Plan Team/Advisory Panel recommendations, including draft annual report recommendations, recommending changes to the Marine Mammal Protection Act regarding the fishermen reporting interactions with marine mammals without the possibility of self-incrimination. F. SSC recommendations 11. Precious corals FMP issues A. 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 this new information, the Council's precious corals plan team and advisory panel have recommended modifications to the precious corals FMP. Possible changes in the FMP include suspending the harvest quota for live gold coral at the Makapu'u Bed; redefining live precious coral as precious coral that has live coral polyps or tissue and redefining dead precious coral as precious coral that no longer has any live coral polyps or tissue; applying size limits to harvested live coral only; implementing a minimum size limit for black coral; prohibiting the use of non-selective gear except for scientific research activity; prohibiting the harvest of pink coral from any established or conditional bed unless it has attained a minimum height of 10 inches; revising the boundaries of Brooks Bank; increasing the annual harvest quota for live pink coral at Brooks Bank; suspending the harvest quota for live gold coral at Brooks Bank; restricting the harvest quota for all types of live precious coral at the newly- discovered bed near French Frigate Shoals; and revising the fishing logbooks to require additional information. This will be the first meeting under the Council's two-meeting framework process for implementing ``new management measures''. While final action will not be taken, the Council might adopt a preferred alternative. B. Proposed changes in State of Hawaii regulations C. Plan Team/Advisory Panel recommendations D. SSC recommendations 12. Crustaceans FMP issues (NWHI lobster fishery) A. 1998 Draft Annual Report B. NWHI 1999 harvest guidelines and data collectors C. NMFS tagging research on NWHI lobster stocks D. Necker Island Refuge Boundary E. Plan Team/Advisory Panel recommendations F. SSC recommendations 13. Program Planning A. Review of Pelagic Fisheries Research Program Terms of Reference B. Disapproval of American Samoa Area Closure C. Addressing disapproved sections of Council's Sustainable Fisheries Act amendment related to bycatch, overfishing and fishing communities D. Program planning document E. Magnuson-Stevens Act amendments F. Advisory Panel Chairman Outreach Plan G. Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee Meeting H. Carbon monoxide-treated tuna update I. Western Pacific Fisheries Information Network J. SSC recommendations 14. Administrative Matters A. Administrative reports B. Statement of Organizational Practices and Procedures C. Appointments to advisory bodies D. Meetings and workshops E. 101st Council Meeting F. Advisory Panel recommendations G. Standing Committee recommendations 15. Other Business Although other isues not contained in this agenda may come before this Council for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this meeting. Action will be restricted to those issues specifically identified 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: May 20, 1999. Bruce C. Morehead, Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 99-13664 Filed 5-27-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-22-F