[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 29, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71466-71467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-6650]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 050905A]


Fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico; Southeastern Data, Assessment, 
and Review (SEDAR); Gulf of Mexico Vermilion Snapper, Greater 
Amberjack, and Gray Triggerfish

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

ACTION: Notice of change in SEDAR Workshops for Gulf of Mexico 
vermilion snapper, greater amberjack, and gray triggerfish.

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SUMMARY: The SEDAR assessments of the Gulf of Mexico stocks of 
vermilion snapper, greater amberjack, and gray triggerfish will consist 
of a series of three workshops: a Data Workshop, an Assessment 
Workshop, and a Review Workshop. This is the ninth SEDAR. The Data and 
Assessment workshops are completed. An additional workshop to complete 
the assessment will be held in December 2005 and the review workshop 
will be delayed until March 2006, see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

DATES: The Second Assessment Workshop will take place December 19-20, 
2005; and the Review Workshop will take place March 27-31, 2006, see 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: The Second Assessment Workshop will be held at the 
Doubletree Club Hotel Atlanta Airport, 3400 Norman Berry Drive, Atlanta 
GA, telephone: (404) 763-1600. The Review Workshop will be held at the 
Hotel Monteleone, 214 Royal Street, New Orleans, LA 70130, telephone: 
(504) 523-3341.

[[Page 71467]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Atran, Gulf of Mexico Fishery 
Management Council (GMFMC), 2203 North Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa 
FL 33607. telephone: (813) 348-1630. John Carmichael, SEDAR 
Coordinator, 1 Southpark Circle, Suite 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 and 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 Report is independently peer reviewed at the Review 
Workshop. The product of the Review Workshop is a Consensus Summary 
which reports Panel opinions regarding the strengths and weaknesses of 
the stock assessment and input data. Participants for SEDAR Workshops 
are appointed by the regional Fishery Management Councils, NOAA 
Fisheries' Southeast Regional Office (SERO), and the NOAA Fisheries' 
Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC), and include data collectors 
and database managers; stock assessment scientists, biologists, and 
researchers; constituency representatives including fishermen, 
environmentalists, and NGO's; International experts; and staff of 
Councils, Commissions, and state and federal agencies.
    The stock assessments assigned to SEDAR 9 were not completed during 
the August Assessment Workshop. Therefore, an additional workshop will 
be held in December 2005 to finalize the stock assessment reports and 
complete the Assessment Workshop tasks. As a result of delay in 
completing the stock assessments, the Review Workshop will be moved 
from December 2005 to March 2006. The original announcement of the 
SEDAR Workshops for the Gulf of Mexico vermillion snapper, greater 
amberjack, and gray triggerfish published at 70 FR 25018, May 12, 2005.

SEDAR 9 Workshop Schedule:

December 19-20, 2005. SEDAR 9 Assessment Workshop II

December 19, 2005, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. and December 20, 2005,8 a.m.-5 p.m.
    Participants will review proposed assessment models and recommend 
the most appropriate methods and configurations for determining stock 
status and estimating population parameters. Participants will review 
assessment reports, compare and contrast various assessment approaches, 
and determine whether the assessments are adequate for submission to 
the review panel.

March 27-31, 2006. SEDAR 9 Review Workshop

March 27, 2006, 1 p.m.-8 p.m., March 28-30, 2006, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. and 
March 31, 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 the 
assessment results in an Advisory Report.
    Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come 
before this group for discussion, those issues may not be the subject 
of formal action during this meeting. Action will be restricted to 
those issues specifically identified in this notice and any issues 
arising after publication of this notice that require emergency action 
under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council's 
intent to take final action to address the emergency.

Special Accoomodations

    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 FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) at least 5 business days prior to each 
workshop.

    Dated: November 23, 2005
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E5-6650 Filed 11-28-05; 8:45 am]
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