Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will

convene public hearings on Draft Amendment 9 to the Fishery Management

Plan for Coastal Migratory Pelagics Resources of the Gulf of Mexico

(Draft Mackerel Amendment 9) and its draft environmental assessment

(EA) and on Draft Amendment 16 to the Fishery Management Plan for Reef

Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Draft Reef Fish Amendment 16) and

its draft EA. Some of the hearings in the Gulf region will be joint

hearings to receive comments on both Draft Mackerel Amendment 9 and

Draft Reef Fish Amendment 16. In addition, one hearing in Key West,

Florida, will be a joint hearing of the Gulf and South Atlantic Fishery

Management Council on Draft Mackerel Amendment 9.

DATES: Written comments on Draft Reef Fish Amendment 16 and on Draft

Mackerel Amendment 9 will be accepted by the Gulf Council until March

5, 1998. The public hearings will be held in February. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates and times of the public

hearings.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to, and copies of the draft

amendment are available from, the Gulf Council. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION for locations of the hearings.

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: The Council will hold public hearings on

Draft Reef Fish Amendment 16. The draft amendment contains alternatives

that may: (1) Shorten the phase-out of the use of fish traps to 2 years

after implementation of this amendment; (2) restrict the commercial

harvest of reef fish by boats and vessels tending spiny lobster and

stone crab traps; (3) require a remote vessel monitoring system for

fish trap vessels; (4) establish additional reporting requirements for

fish trap vessels; (5) establish minimum and maximum size limits for

banded rudderfish and lesser amberjack; (6) prohibit the sale of minor

amberjack species that are smaller than the commercial size limit for

greater amberjack, currently 36 inches (91 cm) fork length; (7)

establish a five-fish bag limit for the recreational fishery for lesser

amberjack and banded rudderfish; (8) remove from the FMP or reclassify

sand perch, dwarf sand perch, queen triggerfish, and hogfish; (9)

establish minimum size limits of 20 inches (51 cm) for scamp and

yellowmouth grouper; 16 inches (41 cm) for mutton snapper; and 12

inches (30 cm) for blackfin snapper, cubera snapper, dog snapper,

mahogany snapper, schoolmaster, silk snapper, mutton snapper, queen

snapper, scamp, yellowmouth grouper, gray triggerfish, and hogfish to

be more consistent with size regulations in State waters of Florida;

(10) include the five-fish red snapper bag limit as part of the 10-

snapper aggregate snapper limit; (11) establish a five-fish bag limit

for hogfish; (12) allow two fish per vessel of cubera snapper over 30

inches (76 cm) total length in addition to the 10-snapper aggregate

limit; and (13) establish a one-fish bag limit and commercial quotas

for speckled hind and Warsaw grouper, or a prohibition on harvest of

these species, in response to those species having been added to the

candidate list of species for possible listing as threatened or

endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

A total of 12 public hearings, including 3 joint public hearings on

both amendments, will be held to obtain public comments on this plan

amendment. The public comment period for this amendment ends on March

5, 1998.

Draft Mackerel Amendment 9 includes proposals for Federal rules for

king and Spanish mackerel fisheries applicable only to the Gulf

Council's area of jurisdiction that may: (1) Change the fishing year

for Gulf group king mackerel, currently July 1; (2) prohibit the sale

of mackerel caught under the recreational allocation; (3) reallocate

total allowable catch (TAC) for the commercial fishery for Gulf group

king mackerel in the Eastern Zone (Florida east coast and Florida west

coast) to 45 percent for the east coast and 55 percent for the west

coast, currently a 50/50 split; (4) reallocate TAC for Gulf group king

mackerel between the recreational and commercial sectors to 70 percent

recreational and 30 percent commercial, currently 68 percent and 32

percent, respectively; (5) establish two subdivisions of TAC for the

commercial, hook-and-line allocation of Gulf group king mackerel by

area for the Florida west coast and base allocations on historical

catches from the 1992-93 fishing year through the 1996-97 fishing year,

excepting the 1994-95 fishing year; (6) subdivide TAC for Gulf group

king mackerel in the Western Zone (Alabama through Texas) by area,

season, or a combination of area and season; (7) establish trip limits

for vessels fishing Gulf group king mackerel in the Western Zone; (8)

restrict 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) increase the minimum size

limit for Gulf group king mackerel to 24 or 26 inches (61 or 66 cm)

fork length, currently 20 inches (51 cm) fork length; (10) re-establish

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) modify regulations on retention and sale of cut-off

(damaged) legal-sized king and Spanish mackerel within established trip

limits.

Public hearings will be held from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at all of

the following locations, except Gulf Shores, AL, where the hearing for

Draft Mackerel Amendment 9 will be from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and the

hearing on Draft Reef Fish Amendment 16 will be from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00

p.m.

1. Monday, February 9, 1998--Holiday Inn Beachside, 3841 North

Roosevelt Boulevard, Key West, FL 33040 - Draft Reef Fish Amendment 16.

2. Tuesday, February 10, 1998--Hampton Inn, 13000 North Cleveland,

North Fort Myers, FL 33903 - Draft Reef Fish Amendment 16.

3. Wednesday, February 11, 1998--Radisson Bay Harbor Inn, 7700

Courtney Campbell Causeway, Tampa, FL 33607 - Draft Reef Fish Amendment

16.

4. Thursday, February 12, 1998--Plantation Inn and Golf Resort,

9301 West Fort Island Trail, Crystal River, FL 34429 - Draft Reef Fish

Amendment 16.

5. Tuesday, February 17, 1998--Holiday Inn Beachside, 3841 North

Roosevelt Boulevard, Key West, FL

[[Page 6005]]

33040 - Draft Mackerel Amendment 9 - Draft Mackerel Amendment 9 (Joint

meeting with South Atlantic Fishery Management Council).

6. Wednesday, February 18, 1998--Hampton Inn, 13000 North

Cleveland, North Fort Myers, FL 33903 - Draft Mackerel Amendment 9.

7. Thursday, February 19, 1998--Radisson Bay Harbor Inn, 7700

Courtney Campbell Causeway, Tampa, FL 33607 - Draft Mackerel Amendment

9.

8. Thursday, February 19, 1998--Old Post Office Building, 102 East

Green Street, Perry, FL 32347 - Draft Reef Fish Amendment 16.

9. Monday, February 23, 1998--National Marine Fisheries Service

Panama City Laboratory, 3500 Delwood Beach Road, Panama City, FL 32408

- Joint Draft Reef Fish Amendment 16 and Draft Mackerel Amendment 9.

10. Tuesday, February 24, 1998--Holiday Inn on the Beach, 265 East

Beach Boulevard, Gulf Shores, AL 36547 - Joint Draft Reef Fish

Amendment 16 and Draft Mackerel Amendment 9.

11. Wednesday, February 25, 1998--J. L. Scott Marine Education

Center & Aquarium, 115 East Beach Boulevard, U.S. Highway 90, Biloxi,

MS 39530 - Joint Draft Reef Fish Amendment 16 and Draft Mackerel

Amendment 9.

12. Wednesday, February 25, 1998--Texas A&M Auditorium, 200 Seawolf

Parkway, Galveston, TX 77553 - Joint Draft Reef Fish Amendment 16 and

Draft Mackerel Amendment 9.

13. Thursday, February 26, 1988--Larose Regional Park, 2001 East

5th Street, Larose, LA 70373 - Joint Draft Reef Fish Amendment 16 and

Draft Mackerel Amendment 9.

14. Thursday, February 26, 1998--Port Arkansas Library, 700 West

Avenue A, Port Arkansas, TX 78373 - Joint Draft Reef Fish Amendment 16

and Draft Mackerel Amendment 9.

15. Thursday, February 26, 1998--West Palm Beach Fishing Club, 201

5th Street, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 - Draft Mackerel Amendment 9.

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

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 February 6, 1998.

Dated: February 2, 1998.

Gary C. Matlock,

Office Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine

Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98-3067 Filed 2-3-98; 2:27 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510-22-F