[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 17, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 77240]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-31692]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 120902G]


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 
public meetings of the Reef Fish Advisory Panel (AP) and the Standing 
and Special Reef Fish Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) from 
January 6 through January 9, 2003.

DATES: The Council's Reef Fish AP will convene at 9 a.m. on Monday, 
January 6, 2003 and conclude by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, January 7, 2003. The 
SSC will convene at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, January 8, 2003 and will 
conclude by 4 p.m. on Thursday, January 9, 2003.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held at the Hilton Tampa Airport 
Westshore Hotel, 2225 Lois Avenue, Tampa, FL; telephone: 813-877-
6688.Council address: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 3018 
U.S. Highway 301 North, Suite 1000, Tampa, FL 33619.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Steven Atran, Population Dynamics 
Statistician, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; telephone: 
813-228-2815.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The AP and the SSC will review reports of 
the Council's Reef Fish Stock Assessment Panel (RFSAP) and 
Socioeconomic Panel (SEP) on the stock assessments and status of the 
red grouper and yellowedge grouper stocks in the Gulf of Mexico. These 
stock assessments were prepared by the NMFS and were presented to the 
RFSAP during their September 17-19, 2002 meeting. Red grouper 
assessments were previously conducted in 1991, 1993, and 1999. This is 
the first time that a stock assessment has been conducted on yellowedge 
grouper.
    In October 2000, NMFS declared red grouper to be overfished, based 
on the 1999 assessment plus additional analyses conducted at the 
request of the RFSAP. In September 2002, the Council submitted a red 
grouper rebuilding plan to NMFS (Secretarial Amendment 1 to the Reef 
Fish Fishery Management Plan), which is currently being reviewed by 
NMFS. Based on the results of the 2002 red grouper stock assessment and 
the recommendations of the RFSAP, SEP, AP, and SSC, the Council may 
choose to modify its proposals for rebuilding the red grouper stock. 
The AP and SSC will provide recommendations to the Council on both red 
grouper and yellowedge grouper regulations.
    Although other non-emergency issues not on the agenda may come 
before the AP/SSC for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, those issues may not 
be the subject of formal action during these meetings. Actions of the 
AP/SSC will be restricted to those issues specifically identified in 
the agendas and any issues arising after publication of this notice 
that require emergency action under Section 305(c) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council's 
intent to take action to address the emergency.
    Copies of the agendas of these meetings and the stock assessments 
can be obtained by calling the Council office at 813-228-2815 (toll-
free 888-833-1844). Additional materials, including the RFSAP report 
and the SEP report, can also be obtained from the Council office or 
downloaded from the Council Web site (http://www.gulfcouncil.org) but 
the SEP report may not be available until just prior to the meetings.

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 
December 27, 2002.

    Dated: December 10, 2002.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-31692 Filed 12-16-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S