[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 132 (Friday, July 10, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37350-37351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-18308]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 070298G]


Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings

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 (Council) will 
convene public meetings.

DATES: The meetings will be held on July 20-24, 1998.

ADDRESSES: These meetings will be held at the Lafayette Hilton and 
Towers, 1521 West Pinhook Road, Lafayette, LA; telephone: 318-235-6111.
    Council address: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 3018 
U.S. Highway 301 North, Suite 1000, Tampa, FL 33619.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Council

July 22

     8:30 a.m.--Convene.
    8:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.--Receive presentation on Fisheries Issues of 
Mutual Interest to Mexico and U.S.A.
     9:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon--Receive public testimony on: (1) Total 
Allowable Catch (TAC) (2) Draft Mackerel Amendment 9; and, (3) Draft 
Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Amendment.
    Draft Mackerel Amendment 9 contains the following alternatives: (1) 
Possible changes to the fishing year for Gulf group king mackerel; (2) 
Possible prohibitions of sale of Gulf mackerel caught under the 
recreational allocation; (3) Possible reallocations of TAC for the 
commercial fishery for Gulf group king mackerel in the Eastern Zone; 
(4) Possible reallocations of TAC for Gulf group king mackerel between 
the recreational and commercial sectors to 70 percent recreational and 
30 percent commercial; (5) Possible establishment of two (2) 
subdivisions of TAC for the commercial, hook-and-line allocation of 
Gulf group king mackerel by area for the Florida west coast; (6) 
Possible subdivisions of TAC for commercial Gulf group king mackerel in 
the Western Zone (Alabama through Texas) by area, season, or a 
combination of area and season; (7) Possible trip limits for vessels 
fishing for Gulf group king mackerel in the Western Zone; (8) Possible 
additional restrictions on the use of net gear to harvest Gulf group 
king mackerel off the Florida west coast; including a phase-out, a 
moratorium on additional net endorsements with requirements for 
continuing existing net endorsements, restrictions on the 
transferability of net endorsements, and restriction of the use of nets 
to primarily the waters off Monroe and Collier Counties; (9) Possible 
increase in the minimum size limit for Gulf group king mackerel to 24 
or 26 inches fork length; (10) Possible re-establishment of an annual 
allocation or a TAC percentage of Gulf group Spanish mackerel for the 
purse seine fishery with consideration of trip limits and area 
restrictions; (11) Possible retention and sale of cut-off (damaged) 
legal-sized king and Spanish mackerel within established trip limits.
    Following is a summary of the Draft EFH Amendment: (1) EFH is 
identified and described based on areas where various life stages of 21 
selected managed species and the coral complex commonly occur. The 
selected species are shrimp; red drum; reef fish; coastal migratory 
pelagic species; stone crab; spiny lobster; and the coral complex; (2) 
The selected species represent about a third of the species under 
management by the Council. Collectively, these species commonly occur 
throughout all of the marine and estuarine waters of the Gulf of 
Mexico. Consequently, EFH for the remaining managed species would be 
included with that of the species discussed. EFH for the remaining 
managed species will be further addressed in future Fishery Management 
Plan (FMP) amendments, as appropriate; (3) EFH is defined as everywhere 
that the above managed species commonly occur. Because these species 
collectively occur in all estuarine and marine habitats of the Gulf of 
Mexico, EFH is separated into estuarine and marine components. For the 
estuarine component, EFH includes all estuarine waters and substrates 
(mud, sand, shell, rock, and associated biological communities), 
including the sub-tidal vegetation (seagrasses and algae) and adjacent 
inter-tidal vegetation (marshes and mangroves). In the marine waters of 
the Gulf of Mexico, EFH includes virtually all marine waters and 
substrates (mud, sand, shell, rock, and associated biological 
communities) from the shoreline to the seaward limit of the Exclusive 
Economic Zone (EEZ); (4) Threats to EFH from fishing and nonfishing 
activities are identified; (5) Options to conserve and enhance EFH are 
provided and research needs are identified; (6) No management measures 
and, therefore, no regulations are proposed at this time. Fishing-
related management measures to minimize any identified impacts are 
deferred to future amendments when the Council has the information 
necessary to decide if the measures are practicable.
     1:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.--Take final action on the EFH Amendment.
    4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.--Take final action on Mackerel Amendment 9.

July 23

    8:15 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.--(Closed Session) Appointment of Reef Fish 
Stock Assessment Panel Member.
    8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.--Receive an update on Bycatch Reduction 
Device (BRD) evaluations.
    9:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.--Consider an amendment to the Statement of 
Organizational Practices and Procedures (SOPPs) to revise or 
temporarily suspend Section VI, term of office for chairs.
    9:45 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.--Receive a presentation on the Options Paper 
for the Generic Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA) Amendment.

[[Page 37351]]

July 24

    8:30 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.--Receive a report of the Shrimp Management 
Committee.
    8:45 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.--Receive a report of the Budget Committee.
    9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.--Receive a report of the Ad Hoc Vessel 
Monitoring Committee.
    9:15 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.--Receive a report of the Ad Hoc Sustainable 
Fisheries Committee and Law Enforcement Committee.
    9:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.--Receive a report on the Council Chairman's 
Meeting.
    10:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.--Receive a report on the NMFS Billfish/
Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panels meetings.
    10:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.--Receive a report on the U.S. Coast Guard 
Enforcement Workshop.
    10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.--Receive a report on the Gulf and South 
Atlantic Fisheries Development Foundation (G&SAFDF) Shrimp Effort 
Meeting.
    10:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.--Receive a report on the G&SAFDF Red 
Snapper Meeting.
    11:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.--Receive the South Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council (SAFMC) Marine Reserve Workshop Report.
    11:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.--Receive the SAFMC Liaison Report.
    11:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.--Receive Enforcement Reports.
    11:45 a.m. - 12:00 noon--Receive Directors' Reports.
    12:00 noon - 12:15 p.m.--Other business to be discussed.

July 20

    8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon--Convene a joint meeting of the Shrimp, 
Stone Crab, and Spiny Lobster Management Committees to consider the 
Options Paper on the Sustainable Fisheries Act Amendment.
    1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.--Convene the Shrimp Management Committee to 
consider reports on overfishing of shrimp stocks, the Tortugas shrimp 
fishery, and fishing violations in the Tortugas Shrimp Sanctuary.
    2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.--Convene the Mackerel Management Committee to 
consider actions of the SAFMC on Amendment 9 and take final action. 
Also to consider further regulatory action in setting TAC.
    3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.--Convene the Ad Hoc Vessel Monitoring 
Committee to receive an update on Vessel Monitoring System Trials.
    4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.--Convene the Budget Committee to receive a 
status report on the CY 1998 Budget and to consider cost saving 
policies.
    5:00 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.--Convene a joint meeting of the Ad Hoc 
Sustainable Fisheries Committee and the Law Enforcement Committee to 
consider allowable gear regulations.

July 21

    8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon--Convene a joint meeting of the Mackerel, 
Reef Fish, and Red Drum Management Committees to review the Options 
Paper on the SFA Amendment.
    1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.--Convene the Habitat Protection Committee to 
consider recommendations for final action on the Draft EFH Generic 
Amendment.
    Although other issues not contained in this agenda may come before 
the Council for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation Act, those issues may not be the subject of formal 
action during this meeting. Action will be restricted to those issues 
specifically identified in the agenda listed in this notice.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are 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 July 13, 1998.

    Dated: July 6, 1998.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-18308 Filed 7-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F