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Title and Description:
Impacts of Potential Increases in Hawaii Shallow-set Swordfish Longline Effort on Sea Turtle Populations
In response to a proposal from the Hawaii Longline Association, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council has recommended an amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region, calling for an expansion of the Hawaii-based shallow-set longline fishery with anticipated increases in takes of loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles. This action reinitiated a formal consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and the issuing of a Biological Opinion by NMFS, including an incidental take statement allowing takes of sea turtles that, in the opinion of NMFS, would not jeopardize these sea turtle populations. The document to be reviewed under this peer-review plan, ‘Assessment of the population-level impacts of potential increases in marine turtle interactions resulting from a Hawaii longline Association proposal to expand the Hawaii-based shallow set fishery’, was authored by Dr. Melissa Snover of PIFSC and issued in June 2008 as a PIFSC Internal Report (IR-08-010). It is part of the Biological Assessment used by NMFS to prepare the Biological Opinion and establish the incidental take levels. Although the method of determining quasi-extinction risk used in Snover’s assessment has received full peer review (Snover, M.L., and S.S. Heppell. In press. Application of diffusion approximation for risk assessment of sea turtle populations. Ecological Applications), application of the method to determine take levels for a protected marine turtle population has not received such scrutiny. That is the purpose of the current review.

ID:  132 Info. Type:  ISI
Estimated Dissemination Date:  1/15/2009
Contact Person: Rebecca Rootes  NOAA Locator

Date First Posted in Peer Review Agenda:  12/15/2008

Estimated Peer Review Start Date:  10/15/2008
Review type:  individual letters
Expected number of peer reviewers: 3 or fewer
Peer reviewers will be selected by:  a designated outside organization

Will the public, including scientific or professional societies, be asked to nominate potential peer reviewers?  no

Will there be opportunities for the public to comment on the work product to be peer reviewed?  yes

How?  The report to be reviewed was presented by the author at public meetings of the Scientific and Statistical Committee of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council.

When?  June 2008

Will the agency provide significant and relevant public comments to the peer reviewers before they conduct their review?  no

Primary disciplines or expertise needed in the review:
Strong quantitative expertise in population dynamics, including population viability assessment and evaluation of quasi-extinction risks; understanding of marine turtle nesting and interpretation of nesting beach monitoring data; understanding of endangered species regulations.

Comments on Peer Review:
Charge statement: ID132_Hawaii_Longline_Impacts_CHARGE_TO_REVIEWERS.pdf