2010-21862. Fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico; Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) Update; Greater Amberjack

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice of SEDAR Assessment Conference Call for Gulf of Mexico greater amberjack.

SUMMARY:

The SEDAR update of the assessment of the Gulf of Mexico stock of greater amberjack will consist of a series of webinars. This assessment will update the stock assessment conducted under SEDAR 9. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

DATES:

An Assessment conference call will occur on Thursday, September 16, 2010 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (EDT). The established times may be adjusted as necessary to accommodate the timely completion of discussion relevant to the assessment process. Such adjustments may result in the meeting being extended from, or completed prior to the time established by this notice. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES:

The conference call may be attended by the public. Those interested in participating should contact Julie A. Neer at SEDAR (See FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) to request access information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Julie A. Neer, SEDAR Coordinator, 4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, North Charleston, SC 29405; 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. A full benchmark assessment conducted under SEDAR includes three workshops: (1) Data Workshop, (2) Stock Assessment Workshop Process and (3) Review Workshop. The product of the Data Workshop is a data report which compiles and evaluates potential datasets and recommends which datasets are appropriate for assessment analyses. The product of the Stock Assessment Workshop is a stock assessment report which describes the fisheries, evaluates the status of the stock, estimates biological benchmarks, projects future population conditions, and recommends research and monitoring needs. The assessment is independently peer reviewed at the Review Workshop. The product of the Review Workshop is a Review Workshop Report documenting Panel opinions regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the stock assessment and input data. Participants for SEDAR Workshops are appointed by the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils and NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office and Southeast Fisheries Science Center. Participants include data collectors and database managers; stock assessment scientists, biologists, and researchers; constituency representatives including fishermen, environmentalists, and NGO's; international experts; and staff of Councils, Commissions, and state and federal agencies.

SEDAR conducts updates of benchmark stock assessments previously conducted through the SEDAR program. Update assessments add additional data points to datasets incorporated in the original SEDAR benchmark assessment and run the benchmark assessment model to update population estimates.

The greater amberjack update assessment will update the SEDAR 9 benchmark of Gulf of Mexico greater amberjack. The update process consists of a series of webinars.

Greater Amberjack Update Schedule:

September 16, 2010; 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.; SEDAR Update Conference Call

Using updated datasets adopted during the Data Webinar, participants will employ assessment models used in SEDAR 9 to evaluate stock status, estimate population benchmarks and management criteria, and project future conditions. Participants will recommend the most appropriate methods and configurations for determining stock status and estimating population parameters.

Dated: August 27, 2010.

Tracey L. Thompson,

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