[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 46 (Thursday, March 9, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12185-12186]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-3359]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 120505C]


Large Coastal Shark 2005/2006 Review Workshop

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

ACTION: Notice; public workshop.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the time and location for the large coastal 
shark (LCS) Review workshop, the last of

[[Page 12186]]

three workshops for the LCS stock assessment being conducted in 2005/
2006.

DATES: The Review workshop will start at 1 p.m. on Monday, June 5, 
2006, and will conclude at 1 p.m. on Friday, June 9, 2006.

ADDRESSES: The Review workshop will be held at the Bay Point Marriott 
Resort, 4200 Marriott Drive, Panama City Beach, FL 32408.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie Neer at (850) 234-6541; or Karyl 
Brewster-Geisz at (301) 713-2347, fax (301) 713-1917.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic shark fisheries are managed 
under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act. The Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Highly 
Migratory Species (HMS FMP) is implemented by regulations at 50 CFR 
part 635.
    Stock assessments are periodically conducted to determine stock 
status relative to current management criteria. Collecting the best 
available scientific data and conducting stock assessments are critical 
to determine appropriate management measures for rebuilding stocks. 
Based on the last LCS stock assessment in 2002, NMFS determined that 
the LCS complex is overfished and overfishing is occurring. LCS are 
currently under a 26-year rebuilding plan. Potential changes to 
existing management measures will be based, in large part, on the 
results of this 2005/2006 stock assessment.
    This assessment will be conducted in a manner similar to the 
Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) process. SEDAR is a 
cooperative process initiated in 2002 to improve the quality and 
reliability of fishery stock assessments in the South Atlantic, Gulf of 
Mexico, and U.S. Caribbean. SEDAR emphasizes constituent and 
stakeholder participation in assessment development, transparency in 
the assessment process, and a rigorous and independent scientific 
review of completed stock assessments. SEDAR is organized around three 
workshops. The first workshop is a Data workshop where datasets are 
documented, analyzed, reviewed, and compiled for conducting assessment 
analyses. This workshop was held from October 31 through November 4, 
2005, in Panama City, FL. The second workshop is an Assessment workshop 
where quantitative population analyses are developed and refined and 
population parameters are estimated. This workshop was held from 
February 6 through February 10, 2006, in Miami, FL. The last workshop 
is a Review workshop where a panel of independent experts reviews the 
data and assessment and recommends the most appropriate values of 
critical population and management quantities. All workshops are open 
to the public. More information on the SEDAR process can be found at 
http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/sedar/.
    NMFS announces the Review workshop, the last of three workshops for 
the LCS 2005/2006 stock assessment, which will be held from June 5 
through June 9, 2006, at the Bay Point Marriott Resort in Panama City 
Beach, FL (see DATES and ADDRESSES). Prospective participants and 
observers will be contacted with the Review workshop details. This 
workshop is open to the public. Persons interested in participating or 
observing the Review workshop should contact Julie Neer (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Julie Neer at (850) 234-6541 by 
May 29, 2006.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.

    Dated: March 3, 2006.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-3359 Filed 3-8-06; 8:45 am]
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