[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 184 (Friday, September 21, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58527-58528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-23311]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XC245
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of a public meetings.
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SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a
meeting of the Standing, Special Shrimp and Special Reef Fish
Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSC), including a joint session
of the Standing SSC and Socioeconomic SSC, and a joint session of the
Gulf Council's Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC with the South
Atlantic Fishery Management Council's SSC; and a separate meeting of
the Socioeconomic Scientific and Statistical Committee.
DATES: The Standing, Special Shrimp and Special Reef Fish SSC meeting
will convene at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, October 9, 2012, and conclude by
noon, Thursday, October 11, 2012. The Socioeconomic SSC meeting will
convene at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, October 10th and conclude by 5 p.m.
Thursday, October 11, 2012.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, 2900
Bayport Drive, Tampa, FL 33607; telephone: (813) 874-1234.
Council address: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 2203 N.
Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa, FL 33607.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For the Standing, Special Shrimp and
Special Reef Fish SSC: Steven Atran, Population Dynamics Statistician.
For the Socioeconomic SSC: Dr. Assane Diagne, Economist; both located
at Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; telephone: (813) 348-
1630.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Standing and Special Shrimp SSC will
meet jointly on Tuesday, October 9, 2012, to review stock assessments
on brown shrimp, white shrimp and pink
[[Page 58528]]
shrimp. These are updates to stock assessments presented to the SSC in
June, but with landings data through 2011. Based on these assessments,
the SSC may review its recommendations from June for overfishing limit
(OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC). On Wednesday morning,
October 10, 2012, from 9 a.m. to noon, the Standing SSC will meet
jointly with the Socioeconomic SSC to discuss the roles of the Standing
and Socioeconomic SSCs. On Wednesday afternoon, October 10, 2012, from
1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., the Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC will meet
jointly with the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council's SSC to
review a yellowtail snapper benchmark assessment (SEDAR 27). Based on
the assessment, the SSCs will determine an OFL and set an ABC for the
stock as a whole. For management purposes, the ABC will be apportioned
75% to the South Atlantic and 25% to the Gulf. On Thursday, October 11,
2012, the Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC will meet jointly to
review and approve the terms of reference for gag and greater amberjack
benchmark assessments (SEDAR 34) and select attendees for the gag
benchmark assessment workshops. In addition, the SSC will discuss
review methods for the SEDAR 28 (Gulf of Mexico Spanish Mackerel and
Cobia) benchmark assessment. The SSC will also review recommendations
from the ABC Control Rule Working Group on revisions to the ABC control
rule implemented in January 2012 under the Generic Annual Catch Limits/
Accountability Measures Amendment. Finally, the SSC will review the
SEDAR assessment schedule and priorities, and proposed dates for 2013
SSC meetings.
The Socioeconomic Scientific and Statistical Committee will convene
on Wednesday, October 10 and Thursday, October 11 to discuss the
structure and roles of the Scientific and Statistical Committees and
issues related to the red snapper individual fishing quota (IFQ)
program and its 5-year review, including an evaluation of the economic
performance of the program, the 2011 red snapper IFQ report, IFQ survey
results, trends in the program, and the review process. The committee
will also discuss issues related to the allocation of red snapper
resources, including an economic evaluation of red snapper allocation
and social aspects of allocation. The committee also plans to elect a
new chair and vice-chair.
Copies of the agenda and other related materials can be obtained by
calling (813) 348-1630 or can be downloaded from the Council's ftp
site: ftp.gulfcouncil.org.
Although other non-emergency issues not on the agenda may come
before the Scientific and Statistical Committees for discussion, in
accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act, those issues may not be the subject of formal action
during this meeting. Actions of the Scientific and Statistical
Committees will be restricted to those issues specifically identified
in the agenda and any issues arising after publication of this notice
that require emergency action under Section 305(c) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, provided the public
has been notified of the Council's intent to take action to address the
emergency.
Special Accommodations
This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities.
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids
should be directed to Kathy Pereira at the Council Office (see
ADDRESSES) at least 5 working days prior to the meeting.
Dated: September 18, 2012.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-23311 Filed 9-20-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P