National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
Notice of public meeting/public hearing.
The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold its 107th meeting November 28 through December 1, 2000, in Honolulu, HI. A public hearing will be held on a framework amendment to add new entry criteria for the Mau Zone limited entry bottomfish fishery in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI).
The Council’s Standing Committees will meet on November 28, 2000, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The full Council meeting will be held on November 29, 2000, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and November 30 to December 1, 2000, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. A public hearing will be held on November 29, 2000 at 3 p.m. on a framework amendment to add new entry criteria for the Mau zone limited entry bottomfish fishery in the NWHI. See
The Council meeting, Standing Committee meetings, and public hearing will be held at the Ala Moana Hotel, 410 Atkinson Drive, Honolulu, HI; telephone: 808–955–4811. Copies of the framework document proposing new entry criteria for the Mau Zone are available from and written comments can be sent to the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813.
Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director; telephone: 808–522–8220.
The following Standing Committees of the Council will meet on November 28, 2000. Enforcement/Vessel Monitoring System from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.; International Fisheries/Pelagics from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; Executive/Budget and Program from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; Precious Corals from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.; Crustaceans from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.; Bottomfish from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m; Ecosystem and Habitat from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Fishery Rights of Indigenous People from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
A public hearing on new entry criteria for the Mau Zone bottomfish fishery will be held on Wednesday, November 29, 2000, at 3 p.m.
In addition, the Council will hear recommendations from its advisory panels, plan teams, scientific and statistical committee, and other ad hoc groups. The order in which agenda items are addressed may change. The Council will meet as late as necessary to complete scheduled business.
(1) NMFS
(a) Southwest Region, Pacific Island Area Office
(b) Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla and Honolulu Laboratories
(2) NOAA General Counsel, Southwest Region
(1) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The Council has developed a framework amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region. The amendment will establish criteria for new entry into the limited access Mau Zone bottomfish fishery around the NWHI. In developing the framework document, the Council considered a range of alternatives and impacts on NWHI bottomfish fishery. Currently, there are no Federal regulations that specify how new permits are to be issued for the Mau Zone fishery once the number of vessels in the Zone falls below the target
(1) Island reports
(a) Hawaii
(b) American Samoa
(c) Guam
(d) CNMI
(2) NMFS plans and programs to manage recreational fishery resources
(3) Marine license and Dingell-Johnson funding
(4) Recreational Fisheries Data Task Force
(5) Marine Recreational Fishing Statistical Survey
(6) Pelagic sportfishing tournament data collection
(7) RecFish 2000
The entry of large boats into the pelagics fishery in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around American Samoa could cause local overfishing in a portion of the EEZ, create gear conflictsparticularly in areas of concentrated fishing, and reduce the opportunities for profitable fishing operations. This management measure addresses these concerns by allocating fishing privileges to small-boat fishermen harvesting pelagic management unit species (PMUS) in the EEZ surrounding American Samoa. Specifically, the measure prohibits the taking of PMUS by domestic fishing vessels larger than 50 ft (15.24 m) (length overall) from waters within an area that is approximately 50 nm from the baselines of Tutuila Island, Rose Atoll, and the Manu’a Islands and Swain’s Island. An owner of a vessel greater than 50 ft (15.24 m) in length who held a NMFS Longline General Permit on or prior to November 13, 1997, and made a landing of PMUS in American Samoa on or prior to that date is exempt from the prohibition to take PMUS within the closed area.
(1) Blue shark stock assessment and maximum sustainable yield
(2) Status of Amendment 9 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (shark management)
(3) National plan of action on sharks
(1) Status of turtle populations and recovery plan
(2) Status of litigation
(3) Draft Pelagic EIS
(4) Mitigation research
(a) Working group
(b) NMFS research
(5) Observer program
(1) Status of mitigation regulatory amendment
(2) Shorttail albatross biological opinion
(3) Seabird national plan of action
(4) Report on New Zealand International Fisher’s Forum on seabird bycatch
(1) Outcome of the 7th Multilateral High-level Conference
(2) South Pacific Community Standing Committee Meeting
Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come before the 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 Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council’s intent to take final action to address the emergency.
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.
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