[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 123 (Tuesday, June 28, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37086-37087]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-3344]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[ I.D. 062305A]


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 Hearings.

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SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will 
convene will hold a series of public workshops to provide information

[[Page 37087]]

about, and seek input on, ecosystem objectives for fisheries 
management.

DATES: The workshops will be held from July 11 through August 3 at nine 
locations throughout the Gulf of Mexico. For specific dates and times 
see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: The workshops will be held in the following locations: Fort 
Myers Beach, Tampa, Key West, and Panama City, Florida; St. Rose, 
Louisiana; Biloxi, Mississippi; Orange Beach, Alabama; and Galveston 
and Corpus Christi, Texas. For specific dates and times see 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    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 hold a series of public workshops to provide 
information about, and seek input on, ecosystem objectives for 
fisheries management. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council 
(Council) is one of four Councils participating in a pilot project to 
develop an ecosystem approach to fisheries management (the four 
Councils in the pilot project are New England, Mid-Atlantic, South 
Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico).
    One of the initial tasks of this project for the Council is to hold 
a series of public meetings seeking input regarding ecosystem 
objectives for fisheries management. The purpose of these meetings will 
be to facilitate wide-ranging discussions with stakeholder groups and 
the general public in eight topic areas: (1) views regarding the 
adequacy of current approaches for addressing ecosystem considerations, 
(2) the nature of ecosystem-based management and the goals to be 
achieved in addressing ecosystem issues, (3) the nature of the public 
decision making processes within the Council for addressing management 
tradeoffs, consistent with identified goals, (4) mechanisms for 
considering activities outside the Council's purview but influencing 
ecosystem productivity, (5) the boundaries of sub-regional ecosystems 
within the Gulf of Mexico, (6) the types of management measures that 
would be incorporated into ecosystem approaches for fishery management, 
consistent with the identified goals, (7) the specific regional issues 
that need to be addressed in a fisheries ecosystem plan (FEP), (8) 
techniques for determining success of ecosystem-based management, and 
(9) other issues considered important to the stakeholders in the Gulf 
region.
    The public workshops will be conducted by an independent 
facilitator, who will report the results to the Council at its 
September 2005 meeting in New Orleans, LA. The workshops will begin at 
7 p.m. and conclude no later than 9 p.m. at the following locations and 
dates:
    Monday, July 11, 2005, DiamondHead Beach Resort, 2000 Estero 
Boulevard, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931, 888.627.1595;
    Monday, July 18, 2005, Best Western The Westshore Hotel, 1200 North 
Westshore Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33607, 813.282.3636;
    Tuesday, July 19, 2005, DoubleTree Grand Key Resort, 3990 S. 
Roosevelt Boulevard, Key West, FL 33040, 888.310.1540;
    Monday, July 25, 2005, Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, 
1141 Bayview Drive, Biloxi, MS 39530, 228.374.5000;
    Tuesday, July 26, 2005, Orange Beach Community Center, 4849 Wilson 
Boulevard, Orange Beach, AL 36561, 251.981.6028;
    Wendesday, July 27, 2005, NMFS Panama City Lab, 3500 Delwood Beach 
Road, Panama City, FL 32408, 850.234.6541;
    Monday, August 1, 2005, New Orleans Airport Ramada Inn and Suites, 
110 James Drive East, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504.466.1355;
    Tuesday, August 2, 2005, The San Luis Resort, 5222 Seawall 
Boulevard, Galveston Island, TX 77551, 409.744.1500;
    Wednesday, August 3, 2005, Omni Corpus Christi Hotel, Bayfront 
Tower, 900 North Shoreline, Corpus Christi, TX 78401, 361.887.1600.

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 June 27, 2005.

    Dated: June 23, 2005.
Emily Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E5-3344 Filed 6-27-05; 8:45 am]
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