[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 184 (Friday, September 21, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58527-58528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-23311]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC245


Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings

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

ACTION: Notice of a public meetings.

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

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a 
meeting of the Standing, Special Shrimp and Special Reef Fish 
Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSC), including a joint session 
of the Standing SSC and Socioeconomic SSC, and a joint session of the 
Gulf Council's Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC with the South 
Atlantic Fishery Management Council's SSC; and a separate meeting of 
the Socioeconomic Scientific and Statistical Committee.

DATES: The Standing, Special Shrimp and Special Reef Fish SSC meeting 
will convene at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, October 9, 2012, and conclude by 
noon, Thursday, October 11, 2012. The Socioeconomic SSC meeting will 
convene at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, October 10th and conclude by 5 p.m. 
Thursday, October 11, 2012.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, 2900 
Bayport Drive, Tampa, FL 33607; telephone: (813) 874-1234.
    Council address: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 2203 N. 
Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa, FL 33607.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For the Standing, Special Shrimp and 
Special Reef Fish SSC: Steven Atran, Population Dynamics Statistician. 
For the Socioeconomic SSC: Dr. Assane Diagne, Economist; both located 
at Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; telephone: (813) 348-
1630.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Standing and Special Shrimp SSC will 
meet jointly on Tuesday, October 9, 2012, to review stock assessments 
on brown shrimp, white shrimp and pink

[[Page 58528]]

shrimp. These are updates to stock assessments presented to the SSC in 
June, but with landings data through 2011. Based on these assessments, 
the SSC may review its recommendations from June for overfishing limit 
(OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC). On Wednesday morning, 
October 10, 2012, from 9 a.m. to noon, the Standing SSC will meet 
jointly with the Socioeconomic SSC to discuss the roles of the Standing 
and Socioeconomic SSCs. On Wednesday afternoon, October 10, 2012, from 
1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., the Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC will meet 
jointly with the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council's SSC to 
review a yellowtail snapper benchmark assessment (SEDAR 27). Based on 
the assessment, the SSCs will determine an OFL and set an ABC for the 
stock as a whole. For management purposes, the ABC will be apportioned 
75% to the South Atlantic and 25% to the Gulf. On Thursday, October 11, 
2012, the Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC will meet jointly to 
review and approve the terms of reference for gag and greater amberjack 
benchmark assessments (SEDAR 34) and select attendees for the gag 
benchmark assessment workshops. In addition, the SSC will discuss 
review methods for the SEDAR 28 (Gulf of Mexico Spanish Mackerel and 
Cobia) benchmark assessment. The SSC will also review recommendations 
from the ABC Control Rule Working Group on revisions to the ABC control 
rule implemented in January 2012 under the Generic Annual Catch Limits/
Accountability Measures Amendment. Finally, the SSC will review the 
SEDAR assessment schedule and priorities, and proposed dates for 2013 
SSC meetings.
    The Socioeconomic Scientific and Statistical Committee will convene 
on Wednesday, October 10 and Thursday, October 11 to discuss the 
structure and roles of the Scientific and Statistical Committees and 
issues related to the red snapper individual fishing quota (IFQ) 
program and its 5-year review, including an evaluation of the economic 
performance of the program, the 2011 red snapper IFQ report, IFQ survey 
results, trends in the program, and the review process. The committee 
will also discuss issues related to the allocation of red snapper 
resources, including an economic evaluation of red snapper allocation 
and social aspects of allocation. The committee also plans to elect a 
new chair and vice-chair.
    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 Office (see 
ADDRESSES) at least 5 working days prior to the meeting.

    Dated: September 18, 2012.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-23311 Filed 9-20-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P