159th Meeting of the Scientific and Statistical Committee
Day 1 – March 17, 2026, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. HST
[7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. SST; March 18, 4:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. ChST]
Day 2 – March 18, 2026, 9:00 a.m. – 5 p.m. HST
[8 a.m. – 4 p.m. SST; March 18, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. ChST]
Day 3 – March 19, 2026, 8:30 a.m.– 12 p.m. HST
[7:30 a.m. – 11 a.m. SST; March 18, 4:30 a.m. – 8 a.m. ChST]
Hybrid Meeting
In-person attendance at: Council Office, 1164 Bishop St. Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813
To access the meeting via Webex, click link: https://tinyurl.com/159SSCMtg
Event number: 2865 735 1647
Event password: SSC159mtg
For assistance with the web conference connection, contact the Council office at (808) 522-8220.
Draft 159th SSC Meeting Agenda
Federal Register Notice
Tuesday, March 17, 2026, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. HST
| Time | No. | Agenda Item |
| 8:30 AM | 1 | Introductions 01.(1) Council Family List-Part 1 PUBLIC_3-5-26 |
| 8:40 AM | 2 | Approval of Draft Agenda and Assignment of Rapporteurs 02.(1) 159SSC draft WEB agenda_2-24-26 02.(2) 159SSC FR Notice. |
| 8:45 AM | 3 | Status of the 158th SSC Meeting Recommendations 03.(1) 158SSC Final Report |
| 8:50 AM | 4 | PIFSC Director’s Report 4(1) PIFSC Report 206th Council Meeting |
| 5 Island Fisheries | ||
| 9:00 AM | 5.A | American Samoa BMUS Stock Assessment Update WPSAR Terms of Reference Review 05.A(1) ToR American Samoa BMUS Update 2026 |
| 9:20 AM | 5.B | MHI Kona Crab ABC for 2027-2030 (Action Item) 05.B(1) MHI Kona Crab ACL Spec Discussion Doc |
| 9:40 AM | 5.C | Marine Recreational Information Program Update |
| 10:00 AM | 5.D | Guam Territory Fishery Management Plan 05.D(1) Guam Coastal Fisheries Management Plan_Working Draft 2-1 05.D(2) Houk 2025 Comparing Data‐Poor and Data‐Rich Stock Assessments to Generalise Guidance for Pacific |
| 10:30 AM | 5.E | Public Comment |
| 10:40 AM | 5.F | SSC Discussion and Recommendations |
BREAK 10:45 AM – 11:00 AM
| 6 Program Planning and Research | ||
| 11:00 AM | 6.A | Commercial Fishing in the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (Action Item) 06.A(1) Restoring Commercial Fishing to the PRIMNM_for 206CM Briefing Books |
| 6.B | Council IRA Project Updates | |
| 11:30 AM | 6.B.1 | Scenario Planning for the American Samoa and Hawaii Longline Fisheries |
| 11:45 AM | 6.B.2 | Regulatory Review Status Report |
| 12:00 PM | 6.C | Shark Depredation Workshop Report |
| LUNCH BREAK 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM | ||
| 1:30 PM | 6.D | Alignment of Science and Management Priorities |
| 2:00 PM | 6.E | SSC Special Projects |
| 6.E.1 | Summary and status of 2025 Special Projects WGs | |
| 6.E.2 | Review of Special Projects List for 2026 | |
| 6.F | MSRA Research Priorities Update | |
| 2:30 PM | 6.F.1 | SWFSC Research Activities Report |
| 2:45PM | 6.F.2 | PIFSC Update on Research Plans and Progress on Addressing Council’s Research Priorities |
| 3:00 PM | 6.F.3 | SSC Discussion on MSRA Research Priorities Update 06.F.3(1) MSRA Research Priority 2025-2029 WPRFMC Programs_rev1 |
| 3:30 PM | 6.G | Public Comment |
| 3:40 PM | 6.H | SSC Discussion and Recommendations |
4-5 PM: Reserved for SSC Special Projects WG Work Sessions
Tuesday, March 18, 2026, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. HST
| 7 Protected Species | ||
| 9:00 AM | 7.A | SSC Special Projects Protected Species WG Report |
| 9:30 AM | 7.B | Main Hawaiian Islands Insular False Killer Whales Abundance Estimates 07.B(1) Badger etal (2025) – IFKW decline in MHI 07.B(2) Badger etal (2024) – incorporating telemetry information in CR analyses |
| 10:00 AM | 7.C | DSLL ESA Reconsultation for Oceanic Whitetip Shark and Leatherback Turtles |
| 10:15 AM | 7.D | IRA Protected Species Workshop Report |
| 10:45 AM | 7.E | HICast: Dynamic Fishing and Bycatch Avoidance Tool 07.E(1) HICast Dynamic Fishing & Byactch Avoidance Tool Summary |
| 11:15 AM | 7.F | Public Comment |
| 11:20 AM | 7.G | SSC Discussion and Recommendations |
LUNCH BREAK 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
| 8 Pelagic & International Fisheries | ||
| 8.A | Electronic Monitoring Updates | |
| 12:30 PM | 8.A.1 | Review of the Revised Vessel Monitoring Plan 08.A.1(1)_rev1 Draft VMP Guidance Doc for EM |
| 12:45 PM | 8.A.2 | EM Special Projects WG Review of the VMP |
| 8.B | Secondary Pelagic Species | |
| 1:00 PM | 8.B.1 | Mahimahi Catch Patterns Across Hawaii Fisheries 08.B.1(1) Perelman et al. mahimahi summary |
| 1:30 PM | 8.B.2 | Secondary Pelagic Species Assessment and Indicators Project |
| 2:00 PM | 8.C | Public Comment |
| 2:10 PM | 8.D | SSC Discussion and Recommendations |
2:30 PM – 5 PM: Reserved for Rapporteur work sessions / SSC Special Projects WG (as needed)
Thursday, March 19, 2026, 8:30 a.m. –12 p.m. HST
| 9 Other Business | ||
| 9.A | SSC Meeting Schedule and Potential Working Groups | |
| 10 Summary of SSC Recommendations to the Council | ||
