2013-11266. Fisheries of the South Atlantic, Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR); Public Meetings

AGENCY:

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice of SEDAR 36 pre-data deadline and assessment webinars.

SUMMARY:

The SEDAR 36 assessment of the South Atlantic stock of snowy grouper will consist of a series of webinars. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

DATES:

A SEDAR 36 pre-data deadline webinar will be held on Monday, June 3, 2013 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Additional assessment webinars will be held from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on the following dates: July 12, 2013; July 26, 2013; August 23, 2013 (optional); September 4, 2013; and September 27, 2013 (optional). Optional webinar dates will be used as required by the Assessment Panel during the assessment process.

ADDRESSES:

Meeting address: The meetings will be held via webinar. The webinar is open to members of the public. Those interested in participating should contact Julia Byrd at SEDAR (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) to request an invitation providing webinar access information. Please request webinar invitations at least 24 hours in advance of each webinar.

SEDAR address: 4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, N. Charleston, SC 29405.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Julia Byrd, SEDAR Coordinator; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils, in conjunction with NOAA Fisheries and the Atlantic and Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commissions, have implemented the Southeast Data, Assessment and Review (SEDAR) process, a multi-step method for determining the status of fish stocks in the Southeast Region. The product of the SEDAR webinar series is a report which compiles and evaluates potential datasets and recommends which datasets are appropriate for assessment analyses, describes the fisheries, evaluates the status of the stock, estimates biological benchmarks, projects future population conditions, and recommends research and monitoring needs. Participants for SEDAR Workshops are appointed by the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils and NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office, Highly Migratory Species Management Division, and Southeast Fisheries Science Center. Participants include: Data collectors and database managers; stock assessment scientists, biologists, and researchers; constituency representatives including fishermen, environmentalists, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs); international experts; and staff of Councils, Commissions, and state and federal agencies.

The items of discussion in the SEDAR 36 Assessment webinar series are as follows:

1. Participants will evaluate and recommend datasets appropriate for assessment analysis, employ assessment models to evaluate stock status, estimate population benchmarks and management criteria, and project future conditions.

2. Participants will recommend the most appropriate methods and configurations for determining stock status and estimating population parameters.

Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come before this group for discussion, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this meeting. Action will be restricted to those issues specifically identified in this notice 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 intent to take final action to address the emergency.

Special Accommodations

These meetings are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to the Council office (see ADDRESSES) at least 10 business days prior to the meeting.

Note:

The times and sequence specified in this agenda are subject to change.

Dated: May 8, 2013.

Tracey L. Thompson,

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