E6-5423. 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 meetings.

SUMMARY:

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene two public meetings of the Ad Hoc Shrimp Effort Working Group (SEWG).

DATES:

The SEWG meeting will convene at 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 27, 2006 and conclude no later than 3 p.m. on Friday, April 28, 2006. The second SEWG meeting will convene at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 and conclude no later than 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24, 2006.

ADDRESSES:

The meeting will be held at the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Galveston Laboratory, Building 216, 4700 Avenue U, Galveston, TX; telephone: [phone].

Council address: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 2203 North Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa, FL 33607.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Assane Diagne, Economist, telephone: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Council will convene meetings of the SEWG to begin evaluating shrimp effort in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Gulf of Mexico. The working group, appointed by the Council during its March 2006, regular meeting, is charged with providing the Council with alternatives for determining the appropriate level of effort in the shrimp fishery in the EEZ. The group also will discuss the level of effort necessary to achieve optimum yield in the shrimp fishery and what level of effort would derive the maximum benefits of that fishery. The SEWG includes fishery biologists, economists and others knowledgeable about shrimp effort in the Gulf of Mexico.

Although other non-emergency issues not on the agenda may come before the SEWG for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), those issues may not be the subject of formal action during these meetings. Actions of the SEWG 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 Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council's intent to take action to address the emergency.

Copies of the agenda can be obtained by calling [phone].

Special Accommodations

This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Dawn Aring at the Council (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 working days prior to the meeting.

Dated: April 7, 2006.

Tracey L. Thompson,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.