78 FR 66 pgs. 20616-20618 - Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting
Type: NOTICEVolume: 78Number: 66Pages: 20616 - 20618
FR document: [FR Doc. 2013-07954 Filed 4-4-13; 8:45 am]
Agency: Commerce Department
Sub Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XC607
Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting
AGENCY:
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION:
Notice of public meetings.
SUMMARY:
The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold meeting of its Pelagics Plan Team (PPT) and Archipelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan Teams, in Honolulu, HI, to discuss fishery issues and develop recommendations for future management.
DATES:
The meeting of the PPT will be held between April 23 and 24, 2013, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the Archipelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan Teams will be held between April 22 and April 25, 2012, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
ADDRESSES:
The meetings will be held at the Council Office Conference Room, Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813; telephone: (808) 522-8220.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director; telephone: (808) 522-8220.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The PPT will meet at the Council Pelagics Conference Room to discuss the following agenda items:
Tuesday, April 23, 2013, 8.30 a.m.
1. Introduction
2. Annual Report
a. Review 2012 Annual Report modules and recommendations
i. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)
ii. American Samoa
iii. Guam
iv. Hawaii
v. International
vi. Recreational
b. 2012 Annual Report region wide recommendations
Wednesday, April 24, 2013, 8.30 a.m.
3. Ninth Regular Session of the Western and Central Pacific Fishery Commission
4. South Pacific albacore and American Samoa longline costs earnings study
5. North Pacific striped marlin
6. Pacific bluefin tuna
7. Cook Islands/Forum Fisheries Agency sub-regional office in Pago Pago
8. Update on false killer whale Take Reduction Plan
9. Biological opinion for deep set tuna fishery
10. Outstanding Fishery Ecosystem Plan amendments
11. Other business
12. Public comment
13. Pelagic Plan Team Recommendations
The Hawaii and Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIAS) Archipelago Fishery Ecosystem Plan Team Meeting will meet at the Council's Conference Room to discuss the following agenda items:
Tuesday, April 22, 2013, 8:30 a.m.
1. Welcome and Introductions
2. Approval of the Agenda
3. Assignment of Rapporteurs
4. Status of Fishery Monitoring Programs and Research Projects
A. Coral Reef Fisheries
B. Crustacean Fisheries
C. Precious Coral Fisheries
D. Bottomfish Fisheries
i. Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) Annual Catch Target (ACT) Monitoring
ii. Market Delay Amendment
E. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO PIRO Administrative Activities
F. Discussions
5. Improving Annual Catch Limit (ACL) specifications and stock assessments
A. Recalculation of gold coral Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY)
B. New black coral research to support ACL re-specification
C. Discussions
6. Data collection and reporting issues
A. Recreational fishing updates
B. Update on Omnibus Data Collection Improvement Proposal
C. Discussions
7. Review of the Council Five-Year Research Priorities
8. Update Cooperative Research and developing priorities
9. General Discussions
10. Other Business
11. Public Comment
12. Hawaii and PRIA Archipelago Plan Team recommendations
The Joint American Samoa and Marianas Archipelago Fishery Ecosystem Plan Team will meet at the Council's Conference Room to discuss the following agenda items:
Wednesday-Thursday, April 23-24, 2013, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
13. Welcome and Introductions
14. Approval of the Agenda
15. Assignment of Rapporteurs
16. Report on previous Plan Team recommendations and Council actions
17. Review of the Status of the Western Pacific Insular Fisheries
A. Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands
i. Coral reef fisheries
ii. Bottomfish fisheries
iii. Potential use of Bio-Sampling data to improve fishery data
iv. Update of fishery dependent and independent studies
v. Administrative and regulatory updates
vi. Discussions
B. Guam
i. Coral reef fisheries
ii. Bottomfish fisheries
iii. Potential use of Bio-Sampling data to improve fishery data
iv. Update of fishery dependent and independent studies
v. Administrative and regulatory updates
vi. Discussions
C. American Samoa
i. Coral reef and crustacean fisheries
ii. Bottomfish fisheries
iii. Potential use of Bio-Sampling data to improve fishery
iv. Update of fishery dependent and independent studies
v. Administrative and regulatory updates
vi. Discussions
18. Review of the Council Five-Year Research Priorities
19. Update of Cooperative Research and Developing Priorities and Projects
20. General Discussions
21. Other Business
22. Public Comment
23. Annual Catch Limits
A. Evaluating 2012 catches relative to its respective ACLs
B. Using model based approaches to determine MSY and depletion-corrected average catches for Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) specification
C. Discussions
24. Improving Fishery Data Collection in the Western Pacific Region
A. Update on Status of Fishery Data Collection Improvement Actions
B. Data collection in military installations in Guam
C. Update on the status of the Omnibus Fishery Data Collection Improvement Proposal
D. Using Bio-Sampling data to enhance creel surveys
25. Protected Species
A. Update on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Petitioned Species
i. Pacific humphead wrasse
ii. Eight species of coral reef fish
26. Other Business
27. Public Comments
28. Rapporteur reports
29. General discussions and Plan Team recommendations
Plan Team Training: A Brief Introduction to Length-Based Mortality Assessment for Coral Reef Fishes
30. Length-based stock assessment approach: pros and cons, some examples from Florida, Caribbean, and Hawaii.
31. Age and growth of tropical boney fishes. Age at length relationship (e.g., von Bertalanffy). Fitting growth curves. Allometric (Weight-Length) growth.
32. Mortality rates and abundance estimation. Development of exponential mortality model, average population size, and population biomass models. Assessing life span, maximum age and natural mortality, size-age of first capture, selectivity.
33. Integrating the parts. Model development and assessing exploitation rates via average size in the exploited phase of the population.
34. Fisheries-independent and fisheries-dependent surveys to obtain average length in the exploited phase.
35. Computer Laboratory-Estimating mortality rates using a length-based mortality model in Excel.
The order in which the agenda items are addressed April change. The PPT will meet as late as necessary to complete scheduled business.
Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda April come before the PPT for discussion, those issues April not be the subject of formal action during these meetings. Plan Team 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 Fishery Conservation and Management Act, provided the public has been notified of the Councils intent to take final action to address the emergency.
Special Accommodations
These meetings are 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 the meeting date.
Authority:
16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: April 2, 2013.
William D. Chappell,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-07954 Filed 4-4-13; 8:45 am]
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