[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 249 (Tuesday, December 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78403-78404]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30280]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XD676


South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings

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 South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) and Gulf 
of Mexico Fishery Management Council (GMFMC) will hold a meeting of 
their Joint Council Committee on South Florida Management Issues 
(Committee).

DATES: The Committee meeting will be held from 9 a.m. on Tuesday, 
January 13, 2015 until 12 noon on Thursday, January 15, 2015.

ADDRESSES: 
    Meeting Address: The meeting will be held at the Key West Marriott 
Beachside Hotel, 3841 N. Roosevelt Blvd., Key West, FL; phone: (305) 
296-8100.
    South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Address: South Atlantic 
Fishery

[[Page 78404]]

Management Council, 4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, N. Charleston, 
SC 29405.
    Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council Address: 2203 N. Lois 
Ave., Suite 1100, Tampa, FL 33607.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Mahood, Executive Director, 
SAFMC; phone: (843) 571-4366 or toll free: (866) SAFMC-10; fax: (843) 
769-4520; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Committee will meet from 9 a.m. until 5 
p.m. on January 13-14, 2015 and from 9 a.m. until 12 noon on January 
15, 2015. The items of discussion are as follows:
    The Committee will receive an update on the status of draft 
Amendment 35 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for 
the South Atlantic that includes measures to remove black snapper, dog 
snapper, mahogany snapper, and schoolmaster from the FMP. The Committee 
will then review the Draft Joint Amendment to the FMP for the Reef Fish 
Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and the FMP for the Snapper Grouper 
Resources of the South Atlantic Region. The draft amendment is being 
developed by the Committee and includes actions to modify both the Gulf 
of Mexico Reef Fish FMP and the Snapper Grouper FMP for the South 
Atlantic. The draft amendment includes options to: delegate management 
of black grouper, mutton snapper and yellowtail snapper to the Florida 
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC); specify allocations of 
mutton snapper and black grouper to the State of Florida with bycatch 
allowances for other Gulf and South Atlantic states; modifications to 
the bag limit and commercial trip limits for mutton snapper in the Gulf 
of Mexico and South Atlantic; modify the black grouper bag limit and 
implement a recreational spawning season closure; specify 
accountability measures specifically for South Florida species 
(yellowtail snapper, mutton snapper and black grouper); modify the 
shallow-water grouper species compositions and seasonal closures in the 
Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; and options to modify the current 
circle hook requirements in the Gulf and South Atlantic.
    The Committee will continue to review and modify the draft 
amendment. Additional presentations will be provided relative to the 
management boundaries and responsibility for hogfish, a progress report 
on speckled hind and warsaw grouper management, and the status of the 
goliath grouper stock assessment. The Committee will discuss these 
issues and provide recommendations.
    Public comment will be accepted at the end of each meeting day. 
Written comments will be accepted prior the beginning of the Committee 
meeting and should be mailed to Robert Mahood, South Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council, 4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, N. Charleston, 
SC 29406 or emailed to [email protected]. Briefing materials will 
be posted on both the SAFMC Web site at www.safmc.net and the GMFMC Web 
site at www.gulfcouncil.org by January 7, 2015.
    Documents regarding these issues are available from the Council 
office (see ADDRESSES).
    Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come 
before this group for discussion, those issues may not be the subject 
of formal action during this meeting. Action will be restricted to 
those issues specifically identified in this notice 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 final action to address the emergency.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for auxiliary aids should be directed to the 
council office (see ADDRESSES) 3 days prior to the meeting.

    Note: The times and sequence specified in this agenda are 
subject to change.


    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: December 22, 2014.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-30280 Filed 12-29-14; 8:45 am]
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