[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 132 (Friday, July 10, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37350-37351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-18308]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 070298G]
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will
convene public meetings.
DATES: The meetings will be held on July 20-24, 1998.
ADDRESSES: These meetings will be held at the Lafayette Hilton and
Towers, 1521 West Pinhook Road, Lafayette, LA; telephone: 318-235-6111.
Council address: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 3018
U.S. Highway 301 North, Suite 1000, Tampa, FL 33619.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wayne E. Swingle, Executive Director,
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; telephone: (813) 228-2815.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Council
July 22
8:30 a.m.--Convene.
8:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.--Receive presentation on Fisheries Issues of
Mutual Interest to Mexico and U.S.A.
9:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon--Receive public testimony on: (1) Total
Allowable Catch (TAC) (2) Draft Mackerel Amendment 9; and, (3) Draft
Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Amendment.
Draft Mackerel Amendment 9 contains the following alternatives: (1)
Possible changes to the fishing year for Gulf group king mackerel; (2)
Possible prohibitions of sale of Gulf mackerel caught under the
recreational allocation; (3) Possible reallocations of TAC for the
commercial fishery for Gulf group king mackerel in the Eastern Zone;
(4) Possible reallocations of TAC for Gulf group king mackerel between
the recreational and commercial sectors to 70 percent recreational and
30 percent commercial; (5) Possible establishment of two (2)
subdivisions of TAC for the commercial, hook-and-line allocation of
Gulf group king mackerel by area for the Florida west coast; (6)
Possible subdivisions of TAC for commercial Gulf group king mackerel in
the Western Zone (Alabama through Texas) by area, season, or a
combination of area and season; (7) Possible trip limits for vessels
fishing for Gulf group king mackerel in the Western Zone; (8) Possible
additional restrictions on the use of net gear to harvest Gulf group
king mackerel off the Florida west coast; including a phase-out, a
moratorium on additional net endorsements with requirements for
continuing existing net endorsements, restrictions on the
transferability of net endorsements, and restriction of the use of nets
to primarily the waters off Monroe and Collier Counties; (9) Possible
increase in the minimum size limit for Gulf group king mackerel to 24
or 26 inches fork length; (10) Possible re-establishment of an annual
allocation or a TAC percentage of Gulf group Spanish mackerel for the
purse seine fishery with consideration of trip limits and area
restrictions; (11) Possible retention and sale of cut-off (damaged)
legal-sized king and Spanish mackerel within established trip limits.
Following is a summary of the Draft EFH Amendment: (1) EFH is
identified and described based on areas where various life stages of 21
selected managed species and the coral complex commonly occur. The
selected species are shrimp; red drum; reef fish; coastal migratory
pelagic species; stone crab; spiny lobster; and the coral complex; (2)
The selected species represent about a third of the species under
management by the Council. Collectively, these species commonly occur
throughout all of the marine and estuarine waters of the Gulf of
Mexico. Consequently, EFH for the remaining managed species would be
included with that of the species discussed. EFH for the remaining
managed species will be further addressed in future Fishery Management
Plan (FMP) amendments, as appropriate; (3) EFH is defined as everywhere
that the above managed species commonly occur. Because these species
collectively occur in all estuarine and marine habitats of the Gulf of
Mexico, EFH is separated into estuarine and marine components. For the
estuarine component, EFH includes all estuarine waters and substrates
(mud, sand, shell, rock, and associated biological communities),
including the sub-tidal vegetation (seagrasses and algae) and adjacent
inter-tidal vegetation (marshes and mangroves). In the marine waters of
the Gulf of Mexico, EFH includes virtually all marine waters and
substrates (mud, sand, shell, rock, and associated biological
communities) from the shoreline to the seaward limit of the Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ); (4) Threats to EFH from fishing and nonfishing
activities are identified; (5) Options to conserve and enhance EFH are
provided and research needs are identified; (6) No management measures
and, therefore, no regulations are proposed at this time. Fishing-
related management measures to minimize any identified impacts are
deferred to future amendments when the Council has the information
necessary to decide if the measures are practicable.
1:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.--Take final action on the EFH Amendment.
4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.--Take final action on Mackerel Amendment 9.
July 23
8:15 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.--(Closed Session) Appointment of Reef Fish
Stock Assessment Panel Member.
8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.--Receive an update on Bycatch Reduction
Device (BRD) evaluations.
9:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.--Consider an amendment to the Statement of
Organizational Practices and Procedures (SOPPs) to revise or
temporarily suspend Section VI, term of office for chairs.
9:45 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.--Receive a presentation on the Options Paper
for the Generic Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA) Amendment.
[[Page 37351]]
July 24
8:30 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.--Receive a report of the Shrimp Management
Committee.
8:45 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.--Receive a report of the Budget Committee.
9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.--Receive a report of the Ad Hoc Vessel
Monitoring Committee.
9:15 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.--Receive a report of the Ad Hoc Sustainable
Fisheries Committee and Law Enforcement Committee.
9:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.--Receive a report on the Council Chairman's
Meeting.
10:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.--Receive a report on the NMFS Billfish/
Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panels meetings.
10:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.--Receive a report on the U.S. Coast Guard
Enforcement Workshop.
10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.--Receive a report on the Gulf and South
Atlantic Fisheries Development Foundation (G&SAFDF) Shrimp Effort
Meeting.
10:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.--Receive a report on the G&SAFDF Red
Snapper Meeting.
11:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.--Receive the South Atlantic Fishery
Management Council (SAFMC) Marine Reserve Workshop Report.
11:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.--Receive the SAFMC Liaison Report.
11:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.--Receive Enforcement Reports.
11:45 a.m. - 12:00 noon--Receive Directors' Reports.
12:00 noon - 12:15 p.m.--Other business to be discussed.
July 20
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon--Convene a joint meeting of the Shrimp,
Stone Crab, and Spiny Lobster Management Committees to consider the
Options Paper on the Sustainable Fisheries Act Amendment.
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.--Convene the Shrimp Management Committee to
consider reports on overfishing of shrimp stocks, the Tortugas shrimp
fishery, and fishing violations in the Tortugas Shrimp Sanctuary.
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.--Convene the Mackerel Management Committee to
consider actions of the SAFMC on Amendment 9 and take final action.
Also to consider further regulatory action in setting TAC.
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.--Convene the Ad Hoc Vessel Monitoring
Committee to receive an update on Vessel Monitoring System Trials.
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.--Convene the Budget Committee to receive a
status report on the CY 1998 Budget and to consider cost saving
policies.
5:00 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.--Convene a joint meeting of the Ad Hoc
Sustainable Fisheries Committee and the Law Enforcement Committee to
consider allowable gear regulations.
July 21
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon--Convene a joint meeting of the Mackerel,
Reef Fish, and Red Drum Management Committees to review the Options
Paper on the SFA Amendment.
1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.--Convene the Habitat Protection Committee to
consider recommendations for final action on the Draft EFH Generic
Amendment.
Although other issues not contained in this agenda may come before
the Council for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation Act, those issues may not be the subject of formal
action during this meeting. Action will be restricted to those issues
specifically identified in the agenda listed in this notice.
Special Accommodations
These meetings are 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 July 13, 1998.
Dated: July 6, 1998.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-18308 Filed 7-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
