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National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
Notice of a public meeting.
NMFS and the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene a Western Pacific Stock Assessment Review (WPSAR) of a draft 2018 benchmark stock assessment for main Hawaiian Islands Kona crab.
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for meeting dates and times and daily agenda.
The meeting will be held at the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council office at 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813.
Michael Seki, Director—NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), telephone: (808) 725-5360.
The PIFSC conducted a draft 2018 benchmark stock assessment for main Hawaiian Islands Kona crab ( Ranina ranina). The assessment provides the basis for management of this culturally important species. Previously, non-NOAA scientists conducted stock assessments for Kona crab in 1978 and, in collaboration with PIFSC scientists, in 2010-2011. The draft 2018 benchmark assessment incorporates data from 1948 through 2016 and uses a production model, incorporating improvements to data standardization and model assumptions. Specifically, catch per unit effort (CPUE) in the model includes new standardization coefficients split into two time series (1948-2005 and 2006-2016), due to passage of Hawaii state law prohibiting the taking of female Kona crab in 2006. The assessment model accounts for unreported catch by evaluating the use of published estimates of non-reporting ratios estimated for other fisheries in the main Hawaiian Islands, and by incorporating estimates of fishing effort specific to crustaceans from ancillary surveys. Stock status is evaluated against MSY-based reference points set in the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the Hawaii Archipelago. Projections are provided to inform management setting of annual catch limits.
Section 301(a)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that fishery conservation and management measures be based upon the best scientific information available. Magnuson-Stevens Act Section 302(g)(1)(E) provides that the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) and each regional fishery management council may establish a peer review process for that Council for scientific information used to advise the Council about the conservation and management of a fishery. Consistent with this provision, the Council, PIFSC, and the NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office have established the WPSAR process in ( printed page 26011) an effort to improve the quality, timeliness, objectivity, and integrity of stock assessments and other scientific information used in managing fishery resources in the Pacific Islands Region.
The meeting schedule and agenda follow. The WPSAR panel will meet from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The agenda order may change and the meeting will run as late as necessary to complete scheduled business.
1. Welcome and introductions
2. Background information—Objectives and Terms of Reference
3. Fishery operation and management
4. History of stock assessments and reviews
5. Data
a. State of Hawaii fishery data reporting system
b. Post-release mortality and sex ratio
6. Presentation and review of stock assessment
a. Life history
b. Catch (reported and unreported)
c. Catch per unit effort
d. Assessment model
i. Base case model and priors
ii. Base case results
e. Retrospective analysis
f. Sensitivities
g. Projections
7. Continue presentation and review of stock assessment
8. Continue review of stock assessment
9. Continue review of stock assessment
10. Public comment period
11. Panel discussions (Closed)
12. Panel discussions (Closed)
13. Panel presents recommendations (afternoon)
14. Adjourn
This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Please direct requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aides to Michael Seki, Director, PIFSC, tel (808) 725-5360, fax (808) 725-5360, at least 5 days prior to the meeting date.
Dated: May 30, 2018.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-11977 Filed 6-4-18; 8:45 am]
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