[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 153 (Friday, August 8, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 47294]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-20288]



[[Page 47294]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 072503C]


Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings

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

ACTION: Notice of public sscoping meetings for an environmental 
assessment (EA) and workshops on individual fishing quotas (IFQ); 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces public scoping meetings to determine issues for 
an EA for possible new management measures for vermillion snapper under 
the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of 
Mexico (FMP) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) 
will convene these scoping meetings to solicit public ideas to reduce 
overfishing in the Gulf of Mexico vermilion snapper fishery. 
Immediately following each scoping meeting on vermilion snapper, the 
Council will hold a workshop on individual fishing quota (IFQ) systems 
to acquaint the public with IFQ systems prior to a fall referendum on 
an IFQ system for the Gulf red snapper fishery.

DATES: The meetings and workshops will be held in August. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates and times. Public comments 
on the scoping document for vermilion snapper should be received in the 
Council office by 5 p.m., eastern daylight time, September 5, 2003, to 
ensure consideration by the Council.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on and requests for the scoping document on 
vermilion snapper should be addressed to the Council at the following 
address: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 3018 U.S. Highway 
301, North, Suite 1000, Tampa, FL 33619; telephone: (813) 228-2815.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Wayne Swingle, Executive Director, 
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; telephone: (813) 228-2815.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS announces public scoping meetings to 
solicit public and interested agencies input on the nature and extent 
of issues and impacts to be addressed in the EA and the methods by 
which they will be evaluated. The Council will hold these scoping 
meetings to solicit public ideas to reduce overfishing in the Gulf of 
Mexico vermilion snapper fishery. Copies of the scoping document will 
be available at the meetings and are available prior to the meetings 
from the Council office (see ADDRESSES).
    Vermilion and red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico are managed under 
the FMP. The results of several scientific analyses indicate that the 
vermilion snapper resource is undergoing overfishing and that, 
therefore, the fishing mortality rate (F) on the stock may need to be 
reduced up to 30-50 percent. Some possible management actions to reduce 
F include bag limits for the recreational fishery, trip limits for the 
commercial fishery, and size limits for both fisheries. In addition, 
specific values (or a range of values) for maximum sustainable yield 
(MSY), optimum yield (OY), the minimum stock size threshold (MSST) 
(below which a stock is considered to be overfished), and the maximum 
fishing mortality threshold (MFMT) (above which a stock is considered 
to be undergoing overfishing) need to be determined for vermilion 
snapper.
    Immediately following each scoping meeting on vermilion snapper, 
the Council will hold a workshop on IFQ systems to acquaint the public 
with the provisions of IFQ systems in other areas of the country. 
Copies of the workshop PowerPoint presentation will be available at 
each workshop. NMFS intends to hold a referendum in late September 
through November for eligible commercial red snapper fishers to 
determine whether they support an IFQ system for their fishery. The 
purpose of the workshops is to inform these fishers on how current IFQ 
systems work and to answer their questions before they vote in the 
referendum.

Scoping Meetings and Workshops

    The vermilion snapper scoping meetings followed immediately by the 
IFQ workshops will be held at the following locations and dates from 7 
p.m. until 10 p.m. (or earlier if the meetings and workshops are 
concluded).
    1. Monday, August 18, 2003, Hilton Beachfront Garden Inn, 23092 
Perdido Beach Boulevard, Orange Beach, AL 36561; telephone 251-974-
1600;
    2. Tuesday, August 19, 2003, National Marine Fisheries Service, 
3500 Delwood Beach Road, Panama City, FL 32408; telephone 850-234-6541;
    3. Wednesday, August 20, 2003, Tampa Airport Hilton, 2225 Lois 
Avenue, Tampa, FL 33607; telephone 813-877-6688;
    4. Monday, August 25, 2003, Port Aransas Community Center, 408 
North Allister, Port Aransas, TX 78373; telephone 361-749-4111;
    5. Tuesday, August 26, 2003, San Luis Resort, 5222 Seawall 
Boulevard, Galveston Island, TX 77551; telephone 409-744-1500;
    6. Wednesday, August 27, 2003, New Orleans Airport Hilton, 901 
Airline Drive, Kenner, LA 70062; telephone 504-469-5000; and
    7. Thursday, August 28, 2003, Palace Casino Resort, 158 Howard 
Avenue, Biloxi, MS 39530; telephone 800-725-2239.
    Public comments on the scoping document for vermilion snapper will 
be considered by the Council if received in the Council office by 5 
p.m., eastern daylight time, September 5, 2003.
    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 August 11, 2003.

    Dated: August 4, 2003.
Bruce Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-20288 Filed 8-7-03; 8:45 am]
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