[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 72 (Monday, April 14, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 20029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7789]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN: 0648-XH18


Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

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

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a 
meeting of its Ecosystem Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and 
Ad Hoc Marine Reserve Scientific and Statistical Committee (ADMRSSC) in 
Tampa, FL on May 6 & 7, 2008.

DATES: The Ecosystem SSC and Ad Hoc Marine Reserve SSC meeting will 
begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 6, 2008 and conclude by 5 p.m. on 
Wednesday, May 7, 2008.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Quorum Hotel, 700 N. 
Westshore Blvd., Tampa, FL 33609.
    Council address: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 2203 
North Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa, FL 33607.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Atran, Population Dynamics 
Statistician, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; telephone: 
(813) 348-1630.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Ecosystem SSC and Ad Hoc Marine Reserves 
SSC will hold an ecosystem modeling workshop to continue work on 
development and evaluation of ecosystem models as fishery management 
tools in the Gulf of Mexico. This will be the third such workshop held 
by the Ecosystem SSC. One focus of this upcoming workshop will be to 
examine the utility of ecosystem modeling to evaluate marine protected 
area (MPA) alternatives. The charge of the Ad Hoc Marine Reserves SSC 
includes making recommendations based on scientifically developed 
criteria for establishing reserves and testing their effectiveness as 
to whether they were working. Therefore, the Ad Hoc Marine Reserves 
SSC's purpose in this workshop is to provide their input as to the 
efficacy of this approach to evaluate reserves.
    The objectives of this workshop are to:
    1. Continue the process of developing and evaluating the Gulf of 
Mexico Ecosim with Ecopath model as well as other models that may 
provide alternative or supplemental type of analyses.
    2. Examine the utility of ecosystem models as a tool to evaluate 
potential MPA alternatives.
    3. Begin the development of a framework for incorporating ecosystem 
evaluations into the management decision-making process.
    Copies of the agendas and other related materials can be obtained 
by calling (813) 348-1630.
    Although other non-emergency issues not on the agendas may come 
before the SSC and ADMRSSC for discussion, in accordance with the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act), those issues may not be the subject of formal action 
during these meetings. Actions of the 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 Magnuson-Stevens Act, 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 Tina Trezza at the Council (see 
ADDRESSES) at least 5 working days prior to the meeting.

    Dated: April 8, 2008.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-7789 Filed 4-11-08; 8:45 am]
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