Table of Contents I. Welcome and Introductions ................................................................................................ 1 II. Approval of the 178th Agenda ............................................................................................. 1 III. Approval of the 176th and 177th Meeting Minutes .............................................................. 2 IV. Executive Director’s Report ............................................................................................... 2 V. Agency Reports ................................................................................................................... 5 A. National Marine Fisheries Service .......................................................................... 5 1. Pacific Islands Regional Office .................................................................. 5 2. Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center..................................................... 7 B. NOAA Office of General Counsel, Pacific Islands Section ................................. 13 C. US Department of State ........................................................................................ 15 D. US Fish and Wildlife Service ............................................................................... 15 E. Enforcement .......................................................................................................... 17 1. US Coast Guard ........................................................................................ 17 a) Search and Rescue Presentation.................................................... 18 2. NOAA Office of Law Enforcement .......................................................... 22 3. NOAA Office of General Counsel, Enforcement Section ........................ 22 F. Public Comment.................................................................................................... 22 G. Council Discussion and Action ............................................................................. 23 VI. Hawai'i Archipelago and Pacific Remote Island Areas .................................................... 23 A. Moku Pepa ............................................................................................................ 23 B. Legislative Report ................................................................................................. 25 C. Enforcement Issues ............................................................................................... 25 D. Main Hawaiian Islands Kona Crab Harvest Limits .............................................. 25 1. P* Working Group Report ........................................................................ 25 2. SEEM* Working Group Report................................................................ 26 3. Options for Specifying Harvest Limits for the Main Hawaiian Islands Kona Crab (Final Action) ......................................................................... 26 E. Report on Main Hawaiian Islands Bottomfish Restricted Fishing Areas ............. 27 F. Fishery Ecosystem Plan Amendment to Precious Coral Essential Fish Habitat (Final Action) ........................................................................................................ 28 G. Education and Outreach Initiatives ....................................................................... 28 H. Advisory Group Report and Recommendations ................................................... 29 1. Advisory Panel .......................................................................................... 29 2. Archipelagic Plan Team ............................................................................ 30 ii 3. Scientific and Statistical Committee ......................................................... 30 I. Public Comment.................................................................................................... 30 J. Council Discussion and Action ............................................................................. 30 VII. Protected Species .............................................................................................................. 33 A. French Frigate Shoals Green Turtle Research Plans ............................................. 33 B. Oceanic Whitetip Shark Recovery Planning Meeting .......................................... 36 C. Developing Tori Line Minimum Standards for the Hawai'i Longline Fishery ..... 37 D. Status of Endangered Species Act Consultations for the Hawai'i Deep-Set Longline, American Samoa Longline, and Bottomfish Fisheries ......................... 39 E. Updates on Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act Actions ............................................................................................................................... 39 F. Advisory Group Report and Recommendations ................................................... 42 1. Advisory Panel .......................................................................................... 42 2. Protected Species Advisory Committee.................................................... 43 3. Pelagic Plan Team..................................................................................... 43 4. Scientific and Statistical Committee ......................................................... 43 G. Public Comment.................................................................................................... 43 H. Council Discussion and Action ............................................................................. 43 VIII. Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items ........................................................................... 45 IX. Program Planning and Research ....................................................................................... 45 A. National Legislative Report .................................................................................. 45 B. Best Scientific Information Available Policy Directive ....................................... 46 C. SSC Working Group Reports................................................................................ 48 1. Next steps for addressing Blue Ocean Marine Protected Area ................. 48 2. Process for addressing the Modern Fish Act ............................................ 49 D. Summary of 2018 Annual Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Report Updates ................................................................................................................. 53 1. Archipelagic Annual Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Report . 53 2. Pelagic Annual Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Report .......... 54 E. Regional, National, and International Outreach and Education ........................... 55 F. Advisory Group Report and Recommendations ................................................... 56 1. Advisory Panel .......................................................................................... 56 2. Archipelagic Plan Team ............................................................................ 56 3. Pelagic Plan Team..................................................................................... 56 4. Protected Species Advisory Committee.................................................... 57 5. Social Science Planning Committee ......................................................... 57 iii 6. Fishery Data Collection and Research Committee ................................... 57 7. Scientific and Statistical Committee ......................................................... 58 G. Public Comment.................................................................................................... 59 H. Council Discussion and Action ............................................................................. 59 X. Pelagic & International Fisheries ...................................................................................... 63 A. American Samoa Longline Annual Fishery Report .............................................. 63 B. Hawai'i Longline Annual Fishery Report ............................................................. 63 C. Hawai'i Shallow-Set Longline Fishery ................................................................. 63 1. Biological Opinion .................................................................................... 63 2. Managing Loggerhead and Leatherback Sea Turtle Interactions in the Hawai'i-Based Shallow-set Longline Fishery (Final Action) ................... 67 3. Consideration of Additional Mitigation Measures under the Biological Opinion Reasonable and Prudent Measures ............................................. 67 D. Update on Electronic Reporting in the Hawai'i Longline Fishery ........................ 67 E. US Territory Longline Bigeye Catch/Allocation Limits (Final Action) ............... 68 F. Overview of the Global Fishing Watch ................................................................ 71 G. International Fisheries ........................................................................................... 72 1. Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission ............................................. 72 a) Report on 2019 Stock Assessments .............................................. 72 b) Scientific Advisory Committee Meeting 2019 ............................. 72 2. Outcomes of UN Biodieversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Meeting .. 72 3. Report on 33rd Biannual Meeting of Committee on Fisheries .................. 73 H. Advisory Group Report and Recommendations ..................................................