[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 179 (Monday, September 15, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53196-53197]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-21471]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XK52


Fisheries of the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico; SEDAR; Public 
Meetings

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

ACTION: Notice of Southeastern Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) 
Procedural workshop - Caribbean Data Evaluation.

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SUMMARY: The Council-Federal cooperative SEDAR process provides stock 
assessments for fisheries resources of the Southeast Region. Assessment 
priorities are typically established by management need or perceptions 
of management or population problems, and often do not consider data 
availability. As a result, despite several attempts by SEDAR, no 
acceptable quantitative assessments have been developed for Caribbean 
stocks because data to support traditional stock assessment methods 
simply do not exist. It is clear that alternative methods need to be 
developed that will allow assessing Caribbean fisheries resources in a 
manner that will withstand independent peer review. Identifying and 
evaluating available data sources across all managed species is a 
strong first step that is consistent with peer review and assessment 
report recommendations.
    SEDAR will convene a workshop including representatives from 
Federal agencies, territorial governments, non-governmental 
organizations, Council technical and constituent advisors, and 
university researchers. Participants will catalog and evaluate basic 
data, address alternative assessment methods that will accommodate the 
available data, and recommend assessment priorities that are consistent 
with available data and methods.

DATES: The SEDAR Caribbean Data Evaluation Workshop will take place 
January 26-29, 2009; SEDAR Catchability Procedural Workshop Schedule: 
January 26, 2009: 1 p.m. - 8 p.m.; January 27-28, 2009: 8 a.m. - 8 
p.m.; January 29, 2009: 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The SEDAR Caribbean Data Evaluation Workshop will be held at 
the Hotel El Convento, 100 Cristo Street, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico 
00901; telephone: (787) 723-9036.
    Council address: South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 4055 
Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, North Charleston, SC 29405.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie Neer, SEDAR Coordinator, 4055 
Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, North Charleston, SC 29405; telephone: 
(843) 571-4366.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and 
Caribbean Fishery Management Councils, in conjunction with NOAA 
Fisheries and the Atlantic and Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commissions 
have implemented the SEDAR process, a multi-step method for determining 
the status of fish stocks in the Southeast Region. SEDAR includes three 
workshops: (1) Data Workshop, (2) Stock Assessment Workshop and (3) 
Review Workshop. The product of the Data Workshop is a data report 
which compiles and evaluates potential datasets and recommends which 
datasets are appropriate for assessment analyses. The product of the 
Stock Assessment Workshop is a stock assessment report which describes 
the fisheries, evaluates the status of the stock, estimates biological 
benchmarks, projects future population conditions, and recommends 
research and monitoring needs. The assessment is independently peer 
reviewed at the Review Workshop. The product of the Review Workshop is 
a Consensus Summary documenting Panel opinions regarding the strengths 
and weaknesses of the stock assessment and input data. Participants for 
SEDAR Workshops are appointed by the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, 
and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils and NOAA Fisheries Southeast 
Regional Office and Southeast Fisheries Science Center. Participants 
include data collectors and database managers; stock assessment 
scientists, biologists, and researchers; constituency representatives 
including fishermen, environmentalists, and non-governmental 
organizations (NGO's); International experts; and staff of Councils, 
Commissions, and state and federal agencies.
    Each SEDAR workshop panel is asked to provide research and 
monitoring recommendations to improve future assessments and feedback 
on the process to help improve SEDAR itself. Over time, certain key 
topics emerge that reveal a research need or procedural suggestion that 
is common to multiple assessments. The SEDAR Steering Committee 
endorses procedural workshops such as that noticed here to address 
those issues that affect multiple assessments and require more time and 
resources to resolve than are typically available during the normal 
assessment

[[Page 53197]]

development process. The goal of these workshops is to develop 
guidelines and practices that will increase the efficiency of 
subsequent SEDAR assessments.
    Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come 
before these groups for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 
those issues may not be the subject of formal action during these 
meetings. Actions 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 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 sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to the Council office (see ADDRESSES) 
at least 10 business days prior to each workshop.

    Dated: September 10, 2008.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-21471 Filed 9-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S