[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 86 (Monday, May 5, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24419-24421]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-11671]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 020497A]


Peer Review Panels; Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper Research

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

ACTION: Notice reopening nomination process.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Department of Commerce, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine 
Fisheries Service (NMFS), is reopening the nomination process for an 
additional 30 days for interested parties to submit nominations for 
membership on three independent peer review panels being convened under 
section 407(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), to review the basis for 
management of the red snapper stock in the Gulf of Mexico. Nominations 
may be submitted by academic institutions, state fishery management 
agencies, the fishing industry, other interested non-governmental 
organizations, and the public.
    Three panels, (1) a Statistics Review Panel, (2) an Economics 
Review Panel and (3) a Science and Management Review Panel will be 
established. Panels will consist of independent experts in the 
appropriate disciplines.
    The Statistics Review Panel will review the accuracy, precision, 
and adequacy of the commercial,

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recreational, and charter boat red snapper catch and effort statistics. 
The Economics Review Panel will review the costs and benefits analyses 
conducted in preparation of Amendment 8 to the Reef Fish Fishery 
Management Plan, including a review of all reasonable alternatives to 
an individual fishing quota program for the red snapper fishery in the 
Gulf of Mexico. The Science and Management Review Panel will review the 
scientific and management basis for managing the red snapper stock in 
the Gulf of Mexico. The Science and Management Review Panel will be 
charged with evaluating the existing scientific information and 
management measures for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico in toto and 
will include the results from the statistics and economic reviews. In 
addition, the Science and Management Review Panel will review the 
results from the 1995 assessment and the independent assessments 
currently being conducted, the appropriateness of the scientific 
methods, information, and models used to assess the status and trends 
of the red snapper stock, and the appropriateness and adequacy of the 
management measures in the fishery management plan for red snapper for 
conserving and managing the fishery. Each reviewer will prepare a 
report of his/her findings and recommendations.
    To ensure participation by all interested parties and that the 
review panels are afforded all relevant information to reach objective 
findings, NMFS is accepting recommendations for individuals or 
representatives of organizations who cannot serve on one of the review 
panels because of previous or current involvement in the fishery or 
because of financial interests in the outcome of the reviews to present 
information to the peer review panels.

DATES: Nominations and recommendations must be received June 4, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Nominations and recommendations along with a listing of 
background, experience, and credentials are to be submitted to the 
Director, Office of Science and Technology, NMFS, 1315 East-West 
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Director, Office of Science and 
Technology, at (301) 713-2367.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires the 
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to conduct a thorough and independent 
evaluation of the scientific and management basis for conserving and 
managing the red snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico. Specifically 
section 407(a)(1) of the Act requires the Secretary to, ``initiate an 
independent peer review to evaluate: (A) the accuracy and adequacy of 
fishery statistics used by the Secretary for the red snapper fishery in 
the Gulf of Mexico to account for all commercial, recreational, and 
charter fishing harvests and fishing effort on the stock; (B) the 
appropriateness of the scientific methods, information, and models used 
by the Secretary to assess the status and trends of the Gulf of Mexico 
red snapper stock and as the basis for the fishery management plan for 
the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery; (C) the appropriateness and 
adequacy of the management measures in the fishery management plan for 
red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico for conserving and managing the red 
snapper fishery under this Act; and (D) the costs and benefits of all 
reasonable alternatives to an individual fishing quota program for the 
red snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico. (2) The Secretary shall 
ensure that commercial, recreational, and charter fishermen in the red 
snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico are provided an opportunity to--
(A) participate in the peer review under this subsection; and (B) 
provide information to the Secretary concerning the review of fishery 
statistics under this subsection without being subject to penalty under 
this Act or other applicable law for any past violation of a 
requirement to report such information to the Secretary.''

Who May Submit Nominations for Panel Membership

    Any person or organization may submit nominations for any of the 
review panels. When submitting nominations, include the submitting 
person or organization's name and affiliation along with a detailed 
listing of each nominee's background, experience, and credentials. 
Nominees for any of the review panels must have outstanding scientific 
or management credentials relevant to the charge to the panel. 
Nominations for the review panels may be made from international as 
well as national scientific bodies, fishery management organizations, 
academia, or similar organizations. Panel members will be selected by a 
panel of senior NMFS scientists in consultation with appropriate 
interested parties.

Who May Serve on Review Panels

    To avoid conflicts of interest and ensure an independent review, 
nominees for any of the review panels who have been directly involved 
in the collection, evaluation, and interpretation of information used 
in the management of the red snapper or shrimp fishery in the Gulf of 
Mexico or in the management of red the snapper in the Gulf of Mexico 
during the last 4 years, who may gain financially from the outcome of 
this review, or whose immediate family, organization, or company may 
gain financially from the outcome of these reviews will not be accepted 
for membership on any of the review panels.

Cost Reimbursement

    Panel members will be paid a fixed, predetermined amount at a level 
comparable to that paid to Council members and commensurate with the 
amount of time required to participate in the review. It is anticipated 
that the Statistics and Economic Reviews will require 80 hours and the 
Science and Management Review will require 100 hours. In addition, all 
travel expenses for review panel members to attend panel meetings and 
presentations will be paid by the government at the prevailing 
government rates.

Panel Meetings

    Each review panel will meet one or two times. At least one of these 
meetings will be for the presentation of information to the panel by 
scientists, fishery managers, and fishing industry representatives; a 
second meeting may be necessary to review results of additional 
analyses, or to discuss findings and recommendations. In addition, the 
reviewers may caucus by conference call to discuss review plans or the 
result of particular analyses. Each panel will have three or four 
members. A NMFS scientist will serve as a coordinator for the panels, 
but will not serve as a member of any panel.

Format of the Reviews

    The reviews will require that each panel meets for 5 days. The 
first half of the reviews will involve scientists from NMFS, fishery 
management agencies, academia, and the fishing industry who have been 
involved in research or management of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico 
or as part of the fishing industry. The second half of the review will 
be reserved for panel deliberations and preliminary report writing. 
Following the panel meeting, the panel will work by correspondence. A 
final report will be prepared by each of the reviewers and submitted to 
the Director of the Office of Science and Technology. Additional 
meetings may be necessary to discuss issues arising during 
presentations from interested parties or preparation of the panel 
report. An independent contractor will be selected

[[Page 24421]]

to prepare a final consolidated report which incorporates the findings, 
recommendations and discussions of the reviewers' reports. The 
reviewers' reports will be included in the final report in their 
entirety as annexes.

1. Statistics Review Panel

    The Statistics Review Panel will consider the accuracy and adequacy 
of fishery statistics for the red snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico 
to account for all commercial, recreational, and charter fishing 
harvests and fishing effort on the stock. In addition, the Statistics 
Review Panel will consider the collection of information on bycatch in 
the shrimp trawl fishery in the Gulf of Mexico and the estimation of 
total bycatch for the shrimp fishery. The Statistics Review Panel will 
review the current data collection programs conducted by NMFS and 
states that are used in the assessment process including the 
cooperative commercial fisheries statistics program, the Marine 
Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey, the headboat sampling program, 
the observer program that collects bycatch information for the shrimp 
fishery, fishery independent surveys, and appropriate state sampling 
programs that are used in the assessments. The goal of this review is 
to examine the fishery information collection programs in the Gulf of 
Mexico which provide the scientific data for managing the fishery, 
setting regulations, determining allocations and conducting stock 
assessments. The report from this review will be part of the 
information to be considered during the Science and Management Review.

2. Economics Review Panel

    The Economics Review Panel will consider the data that are 
available to conduct economic inquiries and will review and evaluate 
the economic analyses that are currently available and that contribute 
to the understanding of the economic ramifications of alternative 
management strategies for red snapper. The goal of this review is to 
examine the analyses conducted in support of establishing an individual 
transferable quota system for the red snapper fishery and determine 
whether the analyses were sufficient and whether additional analyses of 
other alternatives are called for.

3. Science and Management Review Panel

    The Science and Management Review Panel will consider all aspects 
of the scientific and management basis for managing the red snapper 
stock in the Gulf of Mexico. The review will consider the 
appropriateness of the scientific methods, information, and models used 
to assess the status and trends of the Gulf of Mexico red snapper stock 
and their usefulness as the basis for the fishery management plan for 
the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery. It will also consider the 
appropriateness and adequacy of the management measures in the fishery 
management plan for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico for conserving 
and managing the red snapper fishery under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 
The goal of this review is to examine the available scientific data 
relating to the status of U.S. Gulf of Mexico red snapper, to determine 
the best scientific advice to be derived from it, and to determine 
whether the preferred management options are supported by the 
scientific advice.

Presentation of Information to Review Panels

    Recommendations of individuals or representatives of organizations 
to present information to the review panels may be submitted by any 
person or organization. When submitting recommendations for 
presentations, include the person or organization's name and 
affiliation along with a brief listing of each person's background, 
experience, and the type of information to be presented. Individuals 
recommended for presentations may have previous involvement in the 
assessment or management of the red snapper fishery, may have a 
financial interest in fisheries affected by the outcome of these 
reviews, or may represent other interested parties. A wide range of 
presenters will be selected to ensure that representatives from all 
sectors affected by management of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico 
have an opportunity to present information to the review panels.

    Dated: April 29, 1997.
Nancy Foster,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 97-11671 Filed 5-2-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F