[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 97 (Friday, May 20, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 29283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-2528]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 051705B]


Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings

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

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will 
convene its Ecosystem Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC).

DATES: The meeting will be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 
9, 2005, and from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, June 10, 2005.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the DoubleTree Guest Suites 
Tampa Bay, 3050 North Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607.
    Council address: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 3018 
North U.S. Highway 301, 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 Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 
Council (Council) will convene the first meeting of its newly formed 
Ecosystem Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) in Tampa, FL on 
June 9-10, 2005. The SSC will receive a presentation on EcoGIS, a pilot 
project that brings the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), 
National Ocean Service (NOS), and the eight regional fishery management 
councils together to build on existing regional geographic information 
systems (GIS) capabilities; more fully develop GIS tools for managing 
and researching marine fishery ecosystems; and review the project's 
role in the development of an ecosystem based approach to fisheries 
management. The SSC will also review the findings of a workshop by 
ecosystem scientists that was held in February on ecosystem-based 
decision support tools for fisheries management. They will review a 
NMFS report titled Strategies for Incorporating Ecosystem 
Considerations in Fisheries Management and review an interim report of 
an ad hoc working group on guidelines for fishery ecosystem plans.
    The SSC will then meet with the Council's ecosystem workshop 
facilitator and provide advice on issues to include in an upcoming 
series of public workshops on ecosystem based fisheries management. The 
SSC will review its role in identification of technical needs, 
establishing an inventory of existing information, and synthesizing 
public input on ecosystem goals and objectives.
    A copy of the agenda and related materials can be obtained by 
calling the Council office at 813.228.2815.
    Although other non-emergency issues not on the agendas may come 
before the Ecosystem SSC for discussion, in accordance with the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (M-SFCMA), 
those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this 
meeting. Actions of the Ecosystem 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 M-SFCMA, provided the public has been notified of 
the Council's intent to take action to address the emergency.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Dawn Aring at the Council (see 
ADDRESSES) by May 31, 2005.

    Dated: May 17, 2005.
Tracey Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E5-2528 Filed 5-19-05; 8:45 am]
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