[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 245 (Monday, December 22, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 71058-71059]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-31488]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 121103D]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Amendment 22; Public Hearings

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

ACTION: Notice of public hearings; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will 
hold public hearings to solicit comments on Draft Amendment 22 to the 
Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan of the Gulf of Mexico (Draft 
Amendment 22) that contains alternatives for red snapper to: Redefine 
the biological reference points of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and 
optimum yield (OY); set status determination criteria including maximum 
fishing mortality threshold (MFMT) and minimum stock size threshold 
(MSST); establish a rebuilding schedule that is consistent with the 
Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996 (SFA); and establish a standardized 
methodology to collect bycatch information.

DATES: The meetings will be held in January 2004. See SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION for specific dates and times. Comments on the amendment 
should be received by January 9, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to, and copies of the 
scoping document are available from, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 
Management Council, 3018 U.S. Highway 301, North, Suite 1000, Tampa, 
Florida 33619.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Stu Kennedy, Fishery Biologist, 
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; telephone: (813) 228-2815.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council will hold public hearings to 
solicit comments on Draft Amendment 22. Draft Amendment 22 contains 
alternatives for red snapper to: (1) redefine the biological reference 
points of MSY and OY; (2) set status

[[Page 71059]]

determination criteria including MFMT and MSST; (3) establish a 
rebuilding schedule that is consistent with the SFA; and (4) establish 
a standardized methodology to collect bycatch information.
    The red snapper stock is in an overfished condition and subject to 
overfishing. Currently this stock is under a rebuilding program to 
restore the stock to 20 percent spawning potential ratio (SPR) by 2019. 
However, this plan is inconsistent with NMFS' National Standard 
Guidelines (NSG) for setting definitions of overfishing and the 
overfished condition of stocks that are consistent with SFA and for 
setting the maximum rebuilding time. Definitions of stock size, the 
overfished threshold, and yield must be biomass based, but overfishing 
definitions can be based on SPR. Therefore, before the rebuilding plan 
can be revised, overfished and overfishing targets and thresholds that 
are consistent with SFA and the NSG must be specified so that 
rebuilding goals are known.
    For overfished stocks, a recovery plan must be developed to restore 
the stocks to the biomass level capable of producing MSY on a 
continuing basis (BMSY). This is more conservative than the current 
overfishing definition of 20 percent SPR, which is estimated to be the 
minimal level needed to prevent future declines in the stock. 
Rebuilding periods are to be as short as possible, but not to exceed 10 
years unless the conditions dictate otherwise. For red snapper, even in 
the absence of fishing mortality, it would take more than 10 years to 
rebuild the stock. Therefore, NOAA Fisheries' NSG allows for a maximum 
recovery period in the absence of fishing mortality (12 years) plus the 
mean generation time (19.6 years), or 31.6 years for red snapper. A 
recovery plan adopted by the Council under the new guidelines in 2001 
would have to reach its recovery target during the year 2032 or 
earlier. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that FMPs establish a standardized 
methodology to assess the amount and type of bycatch occurring in the 
fishery. An additional requirement of the Magnuson-Stevens Act is to 
identify and implement conservation measures that, to the extent 
practicable, minimize bycatch. These actions have not been addressed by 
the Council for the Gulf reef fish fishery and must be considered.
    The public hearings will be held at the following locations and 
dates from 7 p.m. - 10 p.m.:
    1. Monday, January 5, 2004, Laguna Madre Learning Center, Port 
Isabel High School, Highway 100, Port Isabel, TX 78578; telephone: 956-
943-0052;
    2. Monday, January 5, 2004 , Mississippi Department of Marine 
Resources, 1141 Bayview Drive, Biloxi, MS 39530; telephone: 228-374-
5000;
    3. Tuesday, January 6, 2004, Port Aransas Civic Center, 710 West 
Avenue A, Port Aransas, TX 78373; telephone: 361-749-4111;
    4. Tuesday, January 6, 2004, Hilton Beachfront Garden Inn, 23092 
Perdido Beach Boulevard, Orange Beach, AL 36561; telephone: 334-974-
1600;
    5. Wednesday, January 7, 2004, San Luis Resort, 5222 Seawall 
Boulevard, Galveston Island, TX 77551; telephone: 409-744-1500;
    6. Wednesday, January 7, 2004, Destin Community Center, 101 
Stahlman Avenue, Destin, FL 32541; telephone: 850-654-5184;
    7. Thursday, January 8, 2004, New Orleans Airport Hilton, 901 
Airline Drive, Kenner, LA 70062; telephone: 504-469-5000; and
    8. Thursday, January 8, 2004, Holiday Inn, 15208 Gulf Boulevard, 
Madeira Beach, FL 33708; telephone: 727-392-2257.
    Public comments on the draft amendment that are received in the 
Council office by 5 p.m., January 9, 2004, will be presented to the 
Council.
    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Trish Kennedy at the Council (see 
ADDRESSES) by December 29, 2003.

    Dated: December 16, 2003.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-31488 Filed 12-19-03; 8:45 am]
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