[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 227 (Monday, November 28, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71267-71268]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-6552]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 112205B]


Fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico; Fisheries of the South Atlantic; 
Southeastern Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR); Gulf of Mexico Gag 
Grouper; South Atlantic Gag Grouper

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

ACTION: Notice of SEDAR Workshops for Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic 
gag grouper.

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SUMMARY: The SEDAR assessments of the Gulf of Mexico stock of gag 
grouper and the South Atlantic stock of gag grouper will consist of a 
series of three workshops: a Data Workshop, an Assessment Workshop, and 
a Review Workshop. This is the tenth SEDAR. See SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION.

DATES: The Data Workshop will take place January 23-27, 2006; the 
Assessment Workshop will take place May 1-5, 2006; the Review Workshop 
will take place June 26-30, 2006. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: The Data Workshop will be held at the Doubletree Guest 
Suites, 181 Church Street, Charleston SC 29401. (877) 408-8733. The 
Assessment Workshop will be held at the Wyndham Grand Bay, 2669 South 
Bayshore Drive, Miami FL 33133. (305) 868-9600. The Review Workshop 
will be held at the Doubletree Buckhead, 3342 Peachtree Road NE, 
Atlanta GA 30326. (404) 231-1234.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Atran, Gulf of Mexico Fishery 
Management Council (GMFMC), 3018 North U. S. Highway 301, Tampa, FL 
33619. Phone: (813) 228-2815 or (888) 833-1844. John Carmichael, SEDAR 
Coordinator, 1 Southpark Circle 306, Charleston, SC 29414. 
(843) 571-4366.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and 
Caribbean Fishery Management Councils, in conjunction with NOAA 
Fisheries and the Atlantic and Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commissions 
have implemented the Southeast Data, Assessment and Review (SEDAR) 
process, a multi-step method for determining the status of fish stocks 
in the Southeast Region. SEDAR includes three workshops: 1) Data 
Workshop, 2) Stock Assessment Workshop and 3) Review Workshop. The 
product of the Data Workshop is a data report which compiles and 
evaluates potential datasets and recommends which datasets are 
appropriate for assessment analyses. The product of the Stock 
Assessment Workshop is a stock assessment report which describes the 
fisheries, evaluates the status of the stock, estimates biological 
benchmarks, projects future population conditions, and recommends 
research and monitoring needs. The assessment is independently peer 
reviewed at the Review Workshop.
    The products of the Review Workshop are a Consensus Summary 
documenting Panel opinions regarding the strengths and weaknesses of 
the stock assessment and input data, and an Advisory Report summarizing 
stock status and recommending management criteria. Participants for 
SEDAR Workshops, appointed by the regional Fishery Management Councils, 
NOAA Fisheries' Southeast Regional Office (SERO), and NOAA Fisheries' 
Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC), include data collectors and 
database managers; stock assessment scientists, biologists, and 
researchers; constituency representatives including fishermen, 
environmentalists, and Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs); 
International experts; and staff of Councils, Commissions, and state 
and federal agencies.

SEDAR 10 Workshop Schedule:

January 23-27, 2006; SEDAR 10 Data Workshop

    January 23, 2006, 1 p.m.-8 p.m., January 24-26, 2006, 8 a.m.-8 
p.m., and January 27, 2006, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. An assessment data set and 
associated documentation will be developed during the Data Workshop. 
Participants will evaluate all available data and select appropriate 
sources for providing information on life history characteristics, 
catch statistics, discard estimates, length and age composition, and 
fishery dependent and fishery independent measures of stock abundance.

May 1-5, 2006 SEDAR 10 Assessment Workshop

    May 1, 2006, 1 p.m.-8 p.m., May 2-4, 2006, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., and May 
5, 2006, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Using datasets provided by the Data Workshop, 
participants will develop population models to evaluate stock status, 
estimate population benchmarks and Sustainable Fisheries Act criteria, 
and project future conditions. Participants will recommend the most 
appropriate methods and configurations for determining stock status and 
estimating population parameters. Participants will prepare a workshop 
report, compare and contrast various assessment approaches, and 
determine whether the assessments are adequate for submission to the 
review panel.

June 26-30, 2006. SEDAR 10 Review Workshop

    June 26, 2006, 1 p.m.-8 p.m., June 27-29, 2006, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., June 
30, 2006, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
    The Review Workshop is an independent peer review of the assessment 
developed during the Data and Assessment Workshops. Workshop Panelists 
will review the assessment and document their comments and 
recommendations in a Consensus Summary. Panellists will summarize 
recommended population parameter estimates in an Advisory Report.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to the Council office (see ADDRESSES) 
at least 5 business days prior to each workshop.


[[Page 71268]]


    Dated: November 22, 2005.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E5-6552 Filed 11-25-05; 8:45 am]
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