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The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Council) is one of eight regional councils established by Congress in 1976 through the Fishery Conservation and Management Act, now known as the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA).

Under the MSA, the Council has authority over fisheries within the US Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) seaward of the state/territorial waters of Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and eight US Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIAS), which include Kingman Reef, Johnston and Midway Atolls, and Baker, Howland, Jarvis, Palmyra and Wake Islands.

Under the MSA, the Council has the following responsibilities for fisheries under its authority:

1. Prepare FEPs and amendments to such plans as necessary to address changing needs in conservation and management and transmit them to the Secretary;

2. Prepare comments on any application for foreign fishing transmitted to the Council, and any fishery management plan or amendment transmitted to the Council;

3. Conduct public scoping, meetings and hearings at appropriate times and in appropriate locations in its geographic area so as to allow all interested persons an opportunity to be heard in the development of FEPs and amendments to such plans, and other matters with respect to the administration and implementation of the provisions of the MSA and other statutory requirements;

4. Submit to the Secretary such periodic reports as the Council deems appropriate and any other relevant report that may be requested by the Secretary;

5. Review on a continuing basis, and revise as appropriate, the following for each fishery within its geographical area of authority: assessments and related specifications with respect to the optimum yield (OY), the capacity and extent to which US fish processors will process US harvested fish, and the total allowable level of foreign fishing;

6. Develop annual catch limits (ACLs) for managed fisheries that may not exceed the fishing level recommendations of its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) or similar peer-review process;

7. Develop, in conjunction with its SSC, five-year research priorities for fisheries, fisheries interactions, habitats and other areas that are necessary for management purposes; update them as necessary; and submit them to the Secretary and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) for their consideration in developing research priorities and budgets for the Western Pacific Region (WPR), also known as the Pacific Islands Region;

8. Review and provide comments on any federal or state, territorial or commonwealth action that may affect fishery habitat under the Council's jurisdiction; and

9. Conduct any other activities that are required by, or provided for in, the MSA or which are necessary and appropriate to the foregoing functions.

To carry out the above functions, the Council adheres to the 10 National Standards (NS) described in the MSA, against which the Council's recommendations to the Secretary are measured.

1. Prevent overfishing while achieving OY

2. Use best scientific information available

3. Stocks managed as units

4. Cannot discriminate between residents of different states

5. Consider efficiency

6. Take into account variations and contingencies

7. Minimize costs, avoid duplication

8. Consider communities

9. Minimize bycatch and mortality

10. Promote safety of human life at sea

Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council

THE OBJECTIVES OF THE EIGHT REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCILS ARE TO PREPARE, MONITOR AND REVISE FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS AND DATA COLLECTION PROGRAMS FOR DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN FISHING WITHIN THE 200-MILE U.S. EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE (EEZ). THIS IS DONE WITH APPROVAL AND IMPLEMENTATION BY THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE WHO HAS STEWARDSHIP RESPONSIBILITY FOR LIVING MARINE RESOURCES IN THE EEZ UNDER THE MSFCMA.

11.441 - Regional Fishery Management Councils

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) [DOC]

Honolulu, Hawaii 968132856 United States

Single Zip Code

NOAA-NMFS-PIRO-2024-27063

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 352% from $690,835 to $3,120,107.