[Federal Register: October 10, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 197)]
[Notices]
[Page 58662-58663]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10oc03-45]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 100603B]
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene
public meetings of the Reef Fish Advisory Panel (AP)and the Standing
and Special Reef Fish Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) from
October 28 through October 29, 2003.
DATES: The Council's Reef Fish AP and SSC will convene jointly at 1
p.m. on Tuesday, October 28, 2003, to receive presentations. The AP and
SSC will hold separate meetings to discuss the issues and make
recommendations beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 29, 2003,
and will conclude by 5 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held at the Hilton Tampa Airport
Westshore Hotel, 2225 Lois Avenue, Tampa, FL; telephone: 813-877-6688.
Council address: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 3018
U.S. Highway 301 North, Suite 1000, Tampa, FL 33619.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Steven Atran, Population Dynamics
Statistician, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 3018 U.S.
Highway 301 North, Suite 1000, Tampa, FL 33619; telephone 813-228-2815.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The AP and the SSC will convene to review a
yellowtail snapper stock assessment and a revised Reef Fish Secretarial
Amendment 1 (red grouper rebuilding plan).
A yellowtail snapper stock assessment was prepared by the Florida
Marine Research Institute (FMRI) on behalf of the Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management
Council, and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The
assessment was conducted using a process known as Southeast Data
Assessment and Review (SEDAR). Under this process, a SEDAR Data
Workshop was held on March 3-7, 2003, to bring researchers, managers,
fishermen and environmental organization representatives together to
review the available scientific information on yellowtail snapper,
goliath grouper and vermilion snapper. A SEDAR Assessment Workshop was
then held on June 9-13, 2003, to again bring researchers, managers,
fishermen and environmental representatives together to conduct the
actual assessment. A draft stock assessment from that workshop was
presented to a SEDAR Assessment Review Workshop held in Tampa July 28-
31, 2003. The review workshop, in addition to convening researchers,
managers, fishermen and environmental organization representatives,
also included several assessment experts
[[Page 58663]]
from outside of the Gulf region, including two provided by the
University of Miami's Center for Independent Experts. Based on the
results of the Assessment Review Workshop, a final version of the
yellowtail snapper stock assessment was prepared, along with
recommendations of the Assessment Review Workshop on the status of the
stock and selection of status determination criteria (maximum fishing
mortality rate, minimum stock size threshold, and optimum yield). These
recommendations were presented to the Gulf Council's Socioeconomic
Panel on September 10-12, 2003. The yellowtail snapper stock
assessment, recommendations of the SEDAR Assessment Review Panel, and
Socioeconomic Panel will be presented during the joint AP/SSC session
on October 28, 2003. Afterwards, the AP and SSC will meet separately on
October 29, 2003, to discuss the issues and make recommendations to the
Gulf Council.
Red grouper were declared overfished by NMFS in October 2000, based
on a 1999 assessment plus additional analyses conducted in 2000. A 2002
stock assessment by NMFS found that the red grouper stock was back
above its minimum stock size threshold, but it had been below the
threshold in 1999, confirming the need for a rebuilding plan to restore
the stock to a level capable of producing maximum sustainable yield on
a continuing basis. In May 2003, the Council submitted Reef Fish
Secretarial Amendment 1 to NMFS that called for approximately a 10
percent reduction in harvest, to be achieved through a reduction in the
commercial shallow-water grouper quota, replacing the February 15 to
March 15 commercial closed season on gag, red and black grouper with a
shallow-water grouper trip limit, and a recreational bag limit of no
more than two red grouper (out of the 5 aggregate grouper bag limit).
The rebuilding plan also proposed a reduction in the deep-water grouper
quota and setting of a tilefish quota in order to discourage effort
shifting to those stocks. NMFS has reviewed the plan as submitted by
the Gulf Council and has made revisions to it. These revisions will be
presented during the joint AP/SSC session on October 28, 2003. The AP
and SSC will then meet separately on October 29, 2003, to discuss the
issues and make recommendations to the Gulf Council.
Although other non-emergency issues not on the agenda may come
before the AP/SSC for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, those issues may not
be the subject of formal action during these meetings. Actions of the
AP/SSC will be restricted to those issues specifically identified in
the agendas and any issues arising after publication of this notice
that require emergency action under Section 305(c) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council's
intent to take action to address the emergency.
Special Accommodations
Copies of the agendas of these meetings and the stock assessments
can be obtained by calling the Council office at 813-228-2815 (toll-
free 888-833-1844). Additional materials, including the Reef Fish Stock
Assessment Panel report and the Socioeconomic Panel (SEP) report, can
also be obtained from the Council office or downloaded from the Council
website (http://www.gulfcouncil.org) but the SEP report may not be
available until just prior to the meetings. This meeting is physically
accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language
interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Anne
Alford at the Council (see ADDRESSES) by October 17, 2003.
Dated: October 06, 2003.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-25819 Filed 10-9-03; 8:45 am]
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