[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 191 (Monday, October 3, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 61092]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-25429]



[[Page 61092]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA662


Stock Assessment Reports for Dusky, Sandbar, and Blacknose Sharks 
in the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico

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

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the availability of final stock assessment 
reports for dusky, sandbar, and blacknose sharks in the Atlantic and 
Gulf of Mexico. The reports summarize the consensus of an independent 
Review Panel, describe methodologies used to determine stock statuses, 
and detail relevant working documents, including copies of Data and 
Assessment workshop reports.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the stock assessments and all 
supporting documents may also be obtained on the internet at: http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/sedar/. A limited number of hard copies are 
available. Requests for these hard copies of the final stock assessment 
reports for dusky, sandbar, and blacknose sharks should be sent to 
Peter Cooper, Highly Migratory Species Management Division (F/SF1), 
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), 1315 East-West Highway, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910, or may be sent via facsimile (fax) to (301) 
713-1917 or phone (301) 427-8503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the stock 
assessments, contact Peter Cooper by phone at (301) 427-8503 or by fax 
at (301) 713-1917.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The assessments for dusky, sandbar, and 
blacknose sharks were conducted as part of the Southeast Data, 
Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) process to ensure the best available 
data and techniques were used. 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. 
The SEDAR process 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 21, which conducted the stock assessments for dusky, sandbar, 
and blacknose sharks, was organized around a series of face-to-face 
workshops and webinars. The first Data Workshop was held in Charleston, 
SC, June 21-25, 2010 (May 4, 2010, 75 FR 23676), and participants 
evaluated all available data and selected 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.
    The Assessment Process was conducted via a series of webinars 
between September 2010 and January 2011 (August 26, 2010, 75 FR 52510; 
October 12, 2010, 75 FR 62506; November 17, 2010, 75 FR 70216; December 
16, 2010, 75 FR 78679). During the assessment process, the assessment 
models were developed and population parameters were estimated using 
the information provided from the Data Workshop.
    The Review Workshop was the final workshop, in which a panel of 
independent experts met in Annapolis, MD, April 18-22, 2011 (March 15, 
2011, 76 FR 13985), and reviewed the data and assessments developed 
during the Data Workshop and Assessment Webinars. All workshops and 
webinars were open to the public. More information on the SEDAR process 
can be found at http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/sedar/. Additionally, the 
final stock assessment reports and all supporting documents can be 
found at that Web site under the heading ``SEDAR 21--HMS Sandbar, 
Dusky, and Blacknose Sharks.''
    Sandbar and dusky sharks were each assessed as one stock whereas, 
for the first time, blacknose sharks were assessed as two separate 
stocks: an Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico stock. The stock assessments 
provide information on the status of the stocks and project their 
future abundance under a variety of catch levels in the U.S. Atlantic 
Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea. The 2010 assessments include 
updated catch estimates, new biological data, and a number of fishery-
independent and fishery-dependent catch rate series for each species.
    The Review Panel for the Review Workshop of SEDAR 21 found that the 
data and methods used were appropriate and the best available for the 
dusky, sandbar, and Atlantic blacknose shark assessments. However, 
because the assessment model for the Gulf of Mexico blacknose stock was 
unable to fit the apparent trends in some of the abundance indices, and 
because there was a fundamental lack of fit of the model to some of the 
input data, the Review Panel did not accept the stock assessment for 
the Gulf of Mexico blacknose stock. Based on these assessments, NMFS 
will be making stock status determinations in an upcoming Federal 
Register notice for four separate stocks: (1) Dusky Sharks, (2) sandbar 
sharks, (3) Gulf of Mexico blacknose sharks, and (4) Atlantic blacknose 
sharks. NMFS is also considering amending the 2006 Consolidated Highly 
Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan, as necessary.

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 971 et seq., and 1801 et seq.

    Dated: September 28, 2011.
Steven Thur,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-25429 Filed 9-30-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P