[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 130 (Thursday, July 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 39857]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-16985]



-----------------------------------------------------------------------



DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE



National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration



RIN 0648-XA549




Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting



AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.



ACTION: Council to convene a public meeting.



-----------------------------------------------------------------------



SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a 

meeting of the Standing, Special Reef Fish and Special Mackerel 

Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSC).



DATES: The meeting will convene at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 and 

conclude by 3 p.m., Thursday, July 28, 2011.



ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council, 2203 North Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa, FL 

33607; telephone: (813) 348-1630.



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Atran, Population Dynamics 

Statistician; Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; telephone: 

(813) 348-1630.



SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Standing, Special Mackerel and Special 

Reef SSC will meet jointly on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 to receive a 

presentation on the Southeast Data, Assessment and Review (SEDAR) 

process. The Standing and Special Mackerel SSC will review, revise if 

necessary, and approve the terms of reference for a SEDAR 28 benchmark 

assessment on Spanish mackerel and cobia to be conducted in 2012. The 

Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC will discuss the rationale for their 

previous recommendation that the 2012 SEDAR 31 red snapper assessment 

be changed from a standard assessment to a benchmark assessment, plus 

the potential benefits and drawbacks to requesting yield streams and 

managing the red snapper fishery in terms of numbers of fish rather 

than biomass. The Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC will then review, 

revise if necessary, and approve the terms of reference for the SEDAR 

31 red snapper assessment. This assessment is currently scheduled to be 

conducted in 2012 as a standard assessment, but the Council, based on 

the recommendation of the SSC, has requested that it be a benchmark 

assessment.

    The remainder of the meeting, July 27-28, will be a joint meeting 

of the Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC. The SSC will first receive a 

presentation from NOAA General Counsel on what constitutes best 

available scientific information. The SSC will then review and suggest 

modifications to the process for deciding levels of acceptable 

biological catch (ABC). This will include a review of the ABC control 

rule developed for the Generic Annual Catch Limits/Accountability 

Measures Amendment, a discussion of risk vs. uncertainty, and a review 

of the P* methodology for determining the buffer between the 

overfishing limit and ABC. Finally, the SSC will receive a report on an 

Ecosystem SSC meeting that was held June 28-30, 2011, and will discuss 

the role of the Ecosystem SSC with respect to the Standing SSC.

    Copies of the agenda and other related materials can be obtained by 

calling (813) 348-1630 or can be downloaded from the Council's ftp 

site, ftp.gulfcouncil.org.

    Although other non-emergency issues not on the agenda may come 

before the Scientific and Statistical Committees for discussion, in 

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act, those issues may not be the subject of formal action 

during this meeting. Actions of the Scientific and Statistical 

Committees will be restricted to those issues specifically identified 

in the agenda 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 action to address the 

emergency.



Special Accommodations



    This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Kathy Pereira at the Council (see ADDRESSES) at 

least 5 working days prior to the meeting.



     Dated: July 1, 2011.

Tracey L. Thompson,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 

Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 2011-16985 Filed 7-6-11; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-22-P