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.

SUMMARY:

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a public meeting of the Shrimp Advisory Panel (AP).

DATES:

The Shrimp AP is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 31, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

The meeting will be held at the New Orleans Airport Hilton, 901 Airline Highway, Kenner, LA; telephone 504-469-5000.

Council address: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 3018 U.S. Highway 301 North, Suite 1000, Tampa, FL 33619.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dr. Richard Leard, Senior Fishery Biologist, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; telephone: 813-228-2815.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Shrimp AP will convene to receive reports from NMFS on the status and health of shrimp stocks in the Gulf, a stock assessment report, and a report on the Tortugas pink shrimp fishery. The Shrimp AP will also receive presentations regarding direct measures to assess shrimp fishing effort that can be used to evaluate effort and bycatch and a summit for sustainability of the shrimp fishery in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Shrimp AP will also review an Options Paper for Amendment 13 to the Shrimp Fishery Management Plan (FMP) that includes alternatives to add rock shrimp to the Shrimp FMP and establishment of status criteria for shrimp stocks including maximum sustainable yields (MSY), optimum yields (OY), as well as criteria for determining if any of the shrimp stocks are undergoing overfishing or should be classified as overfished. The Options paper may also contain alternatives for requiring vessel monitoring systems and bycatch quotas. Finally, the Shrimp AP will also discuss a preliminary draft of an environmental impact statement (EIS) for essential fish habitat (EFH) in the Gulf.

The Shrimp AP consists principally of commercial shrimp fishermen, dealers, and association representatives.

Although other non-emergency issues not on the agendas may come before the AP for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during these meetings. Actions of the AP will be restricted to those issues specifically identified in the agendas 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 action to address the emergency.

Copies of the agenda can be obtained by calling 813-228-2815.

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 July 22, 2002.