[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]
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