Date: October 31 – November 1, 2016
Location: Silver Spring, MD
Archives for October 2016
Marine Recreational Information Program Strategic Planning Meeting
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Insular FKW Recovery Planning Threats Workshop
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Date: October 25-28, 2016
Location: Ohana Waikiki East Hotel, Honolulu, HI
Inter‐American Tropical Tuna Commission Technical Meeting on Dorado
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Date: October 25-27, 2016
Location: Panama City, Panama
Rare Events Bycatch Workshop Series
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Date: Oct. 18-20, 2016
Location: Council Office, Honolulu, HI
Press Release – No Change Recommended for US Pacific Territories’ Longline-Caught Bigeye Tuna Limits (October 14, 2016)
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HONOLULU (14 Oct. 2016) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council yesterday in Honolulu recommended that the US Participating Territory longline-caught bigeye tuna limits remain at 2,000 metric tons (mt) per Territory for 2017. Pending approval by the Secretary of Commerce, the Territories of American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marina Islands (CNMI) are authorized to allocate up to 1,000 mt of their limit to US fishermen through specified fishing agreements as authorized under Amendment 7 of the Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the Western Pacific Region. The amendment, which has been in place since 2014, requires that the Territory longline-caught bigeye tuna limits be reviewed and recommended on an annual basis.
Press Release – Statewide Meetings to Be Held on NWHI Marine Monument Fishing Regulations (Oct. 14, 2016)
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HONOLULU (14 Oct. 2016) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, in Honolulu today, agreed to the drafting of amendments and regulations to the Hawai‘i and Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plans (FEPs) to accommodate provisions of the August 26th Presidential Proclamation that expanded the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument to encompass the entire 200-mile US exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. In accordance with the proclamation, the amendments would prohibit commercial fishing for federally managed precious corals, crustacean, bottomfish, pelagic and coral reef species. The regulations may allow non-commercial fishing and native Hawaiian traditional fishing practices including subsistence fishing and regulate other activities as appropriate.
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168th Council Meeting
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Date: October 12, 2016 Time: 8:30 am – 11:00 am
—- – October 13-14, 2016 Time: 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Location: YWCA, Honolulu, HI
Agenda
FR Notice
168-cm-action-item-summary
168th Council Meeting Action Memorandum
Final 168th Council Meeting Minutes
FR Notice – EPO Pelagic BET Reopening, Oct. 7, 2016
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International Fisheries; Pacific Tuna Fisheries; 2016 Bigeye Tuna Longline Fishery Reopening in the Eastern Pacific Ocean
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; fishery reopening.
SUMMARY: NMFS is temporarily reopening the U.S. pelagic longline fishery for bigeye tuna for vessels over 24 meters in overall length in the eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) because part of the 500 metric ton (mt) catch limit remains available after NMFS closed the fishery on July 25, 2016. This action will allow U.S. vessels to access the remainder of the catch limit, which was established by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) in Resolution C–13–01.
DATES: The reopening is effective October 4, 2016 until the effective date of a notice of closure which will be published in the Federal Register, or through 11:59 p.m. local time December 31, 2016, whichever comes first.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Taylor Debevec, NMFS West Coast Region, 562–980–4066.
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FR Notice – NP Loggerhead Draft Recover Plan, Oct. 12, 2016
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Endangered and Threatened Species;
Notice of Initiation of a 5-Year Review and Notice of Intent To Draft the Recovery Plan for the Distinct Population Segment of North Pacific Ocean Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta)
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce, and Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of initiation of a 5-year review and notice of intent to draft a recovery plan; request for information.
SUMMARY: NMFS and USFWS announce the initiation of a 5-year review for the distinct population segment (DPS) of North Pacific Ocean loggerhead sea turtle (hereafter referred to as ‘North Pacific loggerhead’) and our intent to draft the North Pacific loggerhead recovery plan. A 5-year review is a periodic assessment conducted to ensure that the listed species has the appropriate level of protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). Recovery plans are guides to rebuild and ensure the long- term viability of protected species in the wild. Each document is based on the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review/ update. Therefore, we are requesting submission of any information on the status of the North Pacific loggerhead that has become available since the 2011 listing.
DATES: Information related to this notice must be received by close of business on December 12, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments identified by NOAA–NMFS–2016–0134, by either of the following methods:
• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D= [NOAA-NMFS-2016-0134], click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, complete the required fields and enter or attach your comments.
• Mail: Submit written comments to Alexis Gutierrez, National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources, Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Conservation Division, 1315 East West Highway, Silver
Spring, MD 20910.
Instructions: NMFS, may not consider comments if they are sent by any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period. All comments received are a part of the public record and NMFS will generally post for public viewing on www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender is publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexis Gutierrez, Office of Protected Resources, phone, 301–427–8441, email: Alexis.Gutierrez@noaa.gov
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