Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; Western Pacific Crustacean Fisheries; 1997 Closure

NMFS announces the closure of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) crustacean fishery due to attainment of the harvest guideline for the 1997 fishing season. Lobster vessels carrying vessel monitoring system (VMS) units must be outside the Crustaceans Permit Area 1 VMS Subarea after the closure date. Vessels without VMS units are prohibited from landing lobster after 96 hours following the closure date. This action is intended to prevent overfishing and to achieve optimum yield according to the objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for the Crustacean Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (FMP).