Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; Pelagic Fisheries; Measures to Reduce the Incidental Catch of Seabirds in the Hawaii Pelagic Longline Fishery

NMFS issues a final rule under the Fishery Management Plan for the Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (FMP) that requires owners and operators of all vessels registered for use under a Hawaii longline limited access permit and operating with longline gear north of 23 deg. N. lat. to employ a line-setting machine with weighted branch lines or use basket-style longline gear, and to use thawed blue- dyed bait and strategic offal discards during setting and hauling of longlines. This final rule also requires that the owners and operators of these vessels follow certain seabird handling techniques and annually complete a protected species educational workshop conducted by NMFS. This final rule follows an emergency interim rule published on June 12, 2001, and is being implemented to permanently codify the terms and conditions contained in a biological opinion (BiOp) issued on November 28, 2000, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and intended to afford protection to the endangered short-tailed albatross. This final rule also implements management measures that were recommended by the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and published in a proposed rule on July 5, 2000. These measures were designed to minimize interactions between seabirds and the Hawaii-based longline fishery.