Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 124 / Tuesday, June 27, 2000 / Proposed Rules 39585

specific spawning escapement goals.

The target control rules for individual

stocks are defined by the conservation

objectives and generally correspond to

Maximum Sustained Yield or Maximum

Sustained Production objectives.

Appendix B of Amendment 14

describes the social and economic

characteristics of the ocean salmon

fishery off the west coast and identifies

those fishing communities with annual

salmon landings in excess of $10,000

ex-vessel value. A major purpose of the

Salmon FMP’s allocation objectives is to

preserve the economic viability of local

ports and/or specific coastal

communities.

Public comments on Amendment 14

must be received by August 28, 2000, to

be considered by NMFS in the decision

to approve Amendment 14. A proposed

rule to implement Amendment 14 has

been submitted for Secretarial review

and approval. NMFS expects to publish

and request public comment on the

proposed regulations to implement

Amendment 14 in the near future.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

Dated: June 21, 2000.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–16225 Filed 6–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[I.D. 062000B]

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/public

hearing.

SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery

Management Council (Council) will

hold its 105th meeting in Midway at

Midway Atoll. The Council will hold a

Precious Corals Plan Team meeting and

a public hearing in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Council intends to take action

under the Fishery Management Plan for

the Precious Corals Fisheries of the

Western Pacific Region (FMP) on the

framework process governing

established measures for adjustments to

the harvest quota for exploratory

precious coral permit areas in the

Western Pacific Region. A public

hearing is scheduled during the Plan

Team meeting to receive comments on

this action.

DATES: The Plan Team meeting and the

public hearing will be held on July 6,

2000, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The public

hearing will be held on July 6, 2000, at

11:30 a.m. The Council meeting will be

held on July 10–11, 2000, from 8 a.m.

to 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The Plan Team meeting will

be held at the Council Offices, 1164

Bishop Street, Honolulu, Hawaii;

telephone 808– 522–8220. The Council

meeting will be held at Midway Atoll;

telephone 808–874–1111. Copies of

documents that provide information on

options to be discussed at the public

hearing are available from the Western

Pacific Fishery Management Council,

1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu,

HI, 96813.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director;

telephone 808–522–8220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Plan Team Meeting

The agenda for the Plan Team meeting

will include the items listed below. The

order and time in which agenda items

are addressed may change. The Plan

Team will meet as late as necessary to

complete scheduled business.

1. Introductions

2. Status of the fishery

3. Review of 104th Council Meeting

Minutes

4. Adjustment of Exploratory Quota

(see agenda item 8 under Council

agenda for supplemental information)

5. Confidentiality of Data

6. Other Business

7. Summary of Recommendations

8. Public Hearing

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

(FWS) invited the Council to convene a

meeting on Midway Atoll to discuss

issues relating to the management of

fishery resources in the Northwestern

Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). The Midway

meeting offers Council members and

resource managers first-hand interaction

with the unique atoll environment and

species of the NWHI, National Wildlife

Refuges, and ecotourism operation and

associated recreational fishing.

Discussions will be focused on

protected species (seabirds, turtles,

monk seals), jurisdiction, research,

ecotourism, recreational fishing, and

designation of Marine Protected Areas

(MPAs).

Council Meeting

The agenda during the Council

meeting will include the items listed

below. The order and time in which

agenda items are addressed may change.

The Council will meet as late as

necessary to complete scheduled

business.

Agenda

1. Introductions

2. Approval of Agenda

3. Approval of Minutes of the

Council’s 104th meeting

4. Refuge Overview

a. Report on Midway Atoll National

Wildlife Refuge

b. Report on Midway recreational

fisheries program at Midway

c. Report on research at Midway on

monk seals, seabirds, turtles, and coral

reefs

d. Report on Hawaiian Islands

National Wildlife Refuge

e. Report on other wildlife refuges in

the PRIAs

f. Status of Palmyra Atoll

5. Update on activities related to

Executive Order 13158 on MPAs and

the President’s Memorandum on

Protection of U.S. Coral Reefs in the

NWHI (including ecotourism and

bioprospecting)

a. State of Hawaii

b. Office of Hawaiian Affairs

c. FWS

d. NMFS

e. MPAs in Hawaii and American

Samoa

f. Research issues including Omnibus

Deepwater, monk seals, seabirds, turtles,

coral reefs, sharks and lobsters

g. Status of shark eradication program

at French Frigate Shoals and final report

on commercial bottom longline fishing

for sharks in the NWHI

6. Jurisdictional issues: Council/

NMFS, FWS, State of Hawaii,

Department of Defense

a. Midway

b. Other NHWI

c. PRIAs

7. Preliminary Draft Environmental

Impact Statements

a. Precious Corals

b. Crustaceans

c. Bottomfish

d. Alternatives

8. Precious Corals FMP exploratory

areas

The Council intends to take action

under FMP framework process

governing established measures for

adjustments to the harvest quota for

exploratory precious coral permit areas

in the Western Pacific Region.

For 20 years, domestic commercial

deep-water precious coral harvest has

been dormant. In 1999, largely from

advances in the industry, researchers

have conducted numerous surveys of

the resource around the main Hawaiian

39586 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 124 / Tuesday, June 27, 2000 / Proposed Rules

Islands and found excellent recovery of

the once harvested beds. Newly

available highly maneuverable onemanned submersibles are equipped with

constant stream video cameras, 180°

pilot visibility, on-board computer

mapping, and external robotic arms and

collecting baskets. This allows for stock

assessment concurrent with selective

harvest. Because of these advances, the

Council has recommended a prohibition

on non-selective harvest of precious

corals in all waters under its

jurisdiction. The Exploratory Area of the

Hawaiian Islands, locations where

precious corals are believed to exist but

have not been investigated, cover 99.97

percent of the viable habitat. Harvesting

the current 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) per year

Exploratory Area quota has never been

attempted. Potential harvesters have

claimed that this quota is too low to

justify the necessary capital investment

required for exploration even using the

relatively lower cost non-selective

dredging operations. Due to advances in

technology and new restrictive harvest

guidelines (e.g, proposed prohibition on

use of all non-selective gear to harvest

precious coral), the Council will

consider revising the Exploratory Area

quota. Alternatives include: No increase

in the quota; increasing the quota to

5,000 kg (11,000 lb) per year with no

more than 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) of gold

coral; minimum size requirements for

gold and pink coral; a maximum harvest

quota from any one bank; an increasing

the quota to 10,000 kg (22,000 lb) per

year with no more than 1,000 kg (2200)

of gold coral; minimum size

requirements for gold and pink coral;

and a maximum harvest quota from any

one bank.

9. Other Business

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

Fishery Conservation and Management

Act, provided the public has been

notified of the Council’s intent to take

final action to address the emergency.

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.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

Dated: June 21, 2000.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–16224 Filed 6–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F