[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 27 (Wednesday, February 9, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6351-6352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-2933]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[I.D. 012400C]


Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; Notice of Intent; 
Public Scoping Meetings

AGENCY:  National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION:  Notice of intent to prepare an EIS; notice of intent to 
prepare amendments; public scoping sessions; request for comments.

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SUMMARY:  The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
announces its intention to prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) on the Federal management of precious corals in the Western 
Pacific Region. The scope of the EIS analysis will include all 
activities related to the conduct of the fisheries and will examine the 
impacts of precious coral harvest on, among other things, protected 
species. The Council will hold public scoping meetings and accept 
written comments to provide for public input into the range of actions, 
alternatives, and impacts that the EIS should consider.
    The Council also announces its intention to develop amendments to 
the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Bottomfish and Seamount 
Groundfish Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region, the FMP for 
Crustacean Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region, and the FMP for 
Precious Coral Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region. The Council 
will hold meetings to give the public an opportunity to consider 
management alternatives and provide comments on these amendments.

DATES:  Written comments on the intent to prepare an EIS will be 
accepted on or before March 15, 2000. Public scoping meeting will be 
held between February 16 and March 1, 2000. See SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION for specific dates, times and locations.

ADDRESSES:  Written comments on suggested alternatives and potential

[[Page 6352]]

impacts should be sent to Kitty Simonds, Executive Director, Western 
Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, 1164 Bishop St., Suite 
1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, and to Dr. Charles Karnella, Administrator, 
National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Area Office, 2570 
Dole St., Honolulu, HI 96822. Copies of the documents for the precious 
corals EIS are available from the Council office. Public scoping 
meetings will be held in Hawaii and the Commonwealth of the Mariana 
Islands (CNMI). See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific scoping 
meeting locations and for special accommodations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director, 
Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, 808-522-8220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  Scoping meetings for the precious corals 
EIS will be held at the locations listed here. A summary of the current 
Federal management system for precious corals in the western Pacific 
region will be reviewed during a public scoping hearing. A principal 
objective of the scoping and public input process is to identify a 
reasonable set of management alternatives that, with adequate analysis, 
will sharply define critical issues and provide a clear basis for 
choice among the alternatives. The intent of the EIS is to present an 
overall picture of the environmental effects of fishing as conducted 
under the FMPs. The EIS will include a range of reasonable management 
alternatives and an analysis of their impacts in order to define issues 
and provide a clear basis for public comments and for choices among 
options by the Council.
    The EIS will discuss the impacts of potential precious coral 
harvest on the human environment and consider a range of representative 
alternative management regulations. Alternatives will be assessed for 
impacts on essential fish habitat, target and non-target species of 
fish, discarded fish, marine mammals (Hawaiian monk seals and 
cetaceans), and other protected species present in the western Pacific 
ecosystem. In addition, the environmental consequences section will 
contain an analysis of socio-economic impacts of the fishery on the 
following groups of individuals: (1) Those who participate in 
harvesting the fishery resources and other living marine resources; (2) 
those who process and market the fish and fish products; (3) those who 
are involved in allied support industries; (4) those who consume fish 
products; (5) those who rely on living marine resources in the 
management area, either for subsistence needs or for recreational 
benefits; (6) those who benefit from non-consumptive uses of living 
marine resources; (7) those involved in managing and monitoring 
fisheries; and (8) fishing communities.
    The Council is evaluating the need to amend the bottomfish, 
crustacean and precious corals FMPs to better achieve the management 
objectives of these FMPs. Currently, no Federal regulations are in 
place to manage the bottomfish, crustacean and precious coral fishery 
resources in the EEZ waters surrounding the CNMI. There are also no 
Federal regulations for the bottomfish and crustacean fisheries for the 
EEZ waters surrounding the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIAs). The 
amendments will consider a wide range of management alternatives to 
address data shortfalls and possible impacts from the bottomfish, 
crustacean, and precious coral fisheries in the PRIAs and the CNMI. The 
Council seeks to solicit public comment and input on a wide range of 
management alternatives including, but not limited to, the following: 
Federal permit and data reporting requirements; limited access; vessel 
monitoring systems; observer program; closed season; closed areas; gear 
restrictions; size limits; catch quotas; and prohibitions on the use of 
destructive fishing techniques, including the use of explosives, 
poisons, bottomset gill-nets, bottom trawls, and tangle nets.

Dates, Times, and Locations of the Scoping Meetings

    The public scoping meetings will be held on:
    Wednesday, February 16, 2000, from 6:30-8:30 p.m., Joeten-Kiyu 
Public Library Conference Room, Saipan, CNMI. Phone the Division of 
Fish and Wildlife Resources, 670-322-9834, for information;
    Thursday, February 24, 2000, from 8:30 a.m-12:00 p.m., 
73<SUP>rd</SUP> Scientific and Statistical Committee meeting, Council 
Office Conference Room, Honolulu, HI. Phone the Council Office, 808-
522-8220, for information; and
    Thursday, March 1, 2000, Hibiscus Ballroom, Ala Moana Hotel, 
Honolulu, HI. Phone the Council Office, 808-522-8220, for information.
    These meetings will be advertised in the local newspapers.

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, 808-522-20 
(voice) or 808-522-8226 (fax), at least 5 days prior to the meeting 
date.

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

    Dated: February 3, 2000.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-2933 Filed 2-8-00; 8:45 am]
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