[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 106 (Thursday, June 3, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 29839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-14074]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 052699E]
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 a
public meeting to receive public input on possible changes to its
proposed ``Regulatory Amendment to the Reef Fish Fishery Management
Plan to Set 1999 Gag/Black Grouper Management Measures.''
DATES: This meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 23, 1999
and continue into the afternoon as necessary.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Oakland Terrace Clubhouse,
1900 West 11th Street, Panama City, FL.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Atran, Population Dynamics
Statistician, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 3018 U.S.
Highway 301 North, Suite 1000, Tampa, FL 33619; telephone: 813-228-
2815.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In March 1999, the Council voted to submit
the regulatory amendment to NMFS with a proposal to create a 423
nautical square mile area off the Gulf coast of Florida that would be
closed year-round to all reef fish fishing. The purpose of this
proposal was to protect spawning aggregations of gag and to protect a
portion of the male gag population, which stays offshore year-round and
has declined in proportion to the female gag population in recent
years. The regulatory amendment also proposed to provide increased
protection for juvenile gag by raising the minimum size limit for gag
and black grouper from the current 20 inches total length (TL) to 24
inches TL, which is the size at 50 percent female maturity for gag. The
new minimum size limit for the commercial fishery would take effect
immediately upon implementation, while the minimum size limit for the
recreational fishery would be increased to 22 inches TL initially,
followed by a 1-inch per year increase until the minimum size limit
reached 24 inches TL. True black grouper, which mature at an even
larger size (33 inches TL), were included in the proposal to avoid
confusion that could occur due to the name ``black grouper'' being used
for both species. These proposals received strong criticism from
commercial and charterboat fishermen, who were concerned that the
measures would severely and unnecessarily restrict their access to the
gag and black grouper resource. In addition, a minority report
submitted to NMFS by the five Council members who voted against the
proposed regulatory amendment expressed the opinion that the amendment
violated several of the National Standards in the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act as well as the Regulatory
Flexibility Act. As a result of the public reaction and the minority
report, the Council voted at its May 10-13, 1999 meeting to reconsider
the regulatory amendment during its next meeting in Key West on July
12-15, 1999, and to hold a public workshop prior to the July Council
meeting in Panama City to consider management alternatives. All
management alternatives in the regulatory amendment will be
reconsidered, including those for which the Council originally proposed
status quo. Those alternatives include not only the closed area and
size limit proposals, but also the total allowable catch (TAC), closed
seasons, recreational bag limits, and commercial trip limits.
NMFS, in its ``October 1998 Report to Congress on the Status of
Fisheries of the United States,'' identified gag in the Gulf of Mexico
as a stock that, while not currently overfished, is approaching an
overfished condition. Under the provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Council is required to
take action to prevent overfishing from occurring for stocks identified
by NMFS as approaching an overfished condition. The most recent gag
stock assessment concluded that gag are being fished at a rate
corresponding to between 18 and 23 percent static spawning potential
ratio (SPR), or about at the existing overfishing criteria of 20
percent SPR. However, while this level of SPR is sufficient to maintain
the stock, the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996 requires that
overfishing criteria be set at a level that allows a fishery the
capacity to produce the maximum sustainable yield on a continuing
basis. Consequently, the Council has proposed a new overfishing
criteria of 30 percent static SPR for gag to comply with this
requirement. While this new SPR level will eventually produce higher
yields, it requires an initial reduction in gag harvest in 1999 to
between 1.33 and 2.49 million pounds. This requires a reduction of 32
to 39 percent from the average gag harvest levels from 1990-98, which
have ranged from 3.29 to 5.56 million pounds per year.
Copies of the ``Regulatory Amendment to The Reef Fish Fishery
Management Plan to Set 1999 Gag/Black Grouper Management Measures'' and
the minority report can be obtained by calling 813-228-2815. They can
also be downloaded in Adobe Acrobat format from the Council's web site:
http://www.gulfcouncil.org.
Although other issues not on the agenda may come before the
workshop 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. Action will be restricted
to those issues specifically identified by this notice.
Special Accommodations
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
June 16, 1999.
Dated: May 27, 1999.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 99-14074 Filed 6-2-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
