[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 121 (Wednesday, June 24, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 34364]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16786]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 061598C]


Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a 
public meeting of the Standing Scientific and Statistical Committee 
(SSC).

DATES: The meeting will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 7, 1998 and 
conclude by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 9, 1998.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Crowne Plaza New Orleans, 
333 Poydras Street, New Orleans, LA 70130; telephone: 504-525-9444.
    Council address: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 3018 
U.S. Highway 301 North, Suite 1000, Tampa, FL 33619.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wayne Swingle, Executive Director, 
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; telephone: 813-228-2815.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Standing SSC will review the Draft 
Generic Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Amendment. As mandated by the 
Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA), the Council has developed a Generic 
EFH amendment that identifies essential fish habitat for all species 
currently under management by the Council. The amendment does not 
include any alternatives for management measures. Future management 
measures, if needed, will be developed through amendments to individual 
fishery management plans (FMPs). The SSC will also review reports of 
the Ad Hoc Crustacean and Finfish Stock Assessment Panels (SAP) that 
include alternatives for the overfishing criteria, as required by the 
SFA, and proxies for expressing maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and 
optimum yield (OY) in terms of spawning potential ratio (SPR), spawning 
stock biomass per recruit (SSBR), or other credible analyses as 
appropriate for the stocks or stock complexes of each FMP: shrimp, 
stone crab, and spiny lobster (Crustacean SAP Report) and for coastal 
migratory pelagics, reef fish, and red drum (Finfish SAP Report). 
Alternatives for rebuilding periods for stocks that have been 
classified as overfished by NMFS and modifications to the framework 
procedures for specifying acceptable biological catch (ABC) and total 
allowable catch (TAC) will be considered, where appropriate.
    Although other issues not on the agenda may come before the SSC 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. The SSC's actions will be restricted 
to those issues specifically identified in the agenda listed as 
available by this notice.

Special Accommodations

    This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Anne Alford at the Council (see ADDRESSES) by 
June 29, 1998.

Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-16786 Filed 6-23-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F