Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 111998A]

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

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ACTION: Notice of public hearings; request for comments.

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

convene public hearings on a Draft Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA)

Amendment and on a draft regulatory amendment regarding gag and black

grouper in Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the hearings

in the Gulf region will be joint hearings to receive comments on both

draft amendments.

DATES: Written comments on the Draft SFA Amendment and the draft

regulatory amendment will be accepted by the Council through January 4,

1999. The public hearings will be held in December 1998. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates, times, and locations of

the public hearings.

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

SFA Amendment and draft regulatory amendment are available from, the

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: In 1996, Congress passed the SFA, which

contained new requirements for the management of marine fisheries in

Federal waters. To meet these new requirements, the Council developed

the Draft SFA Amendment that would amend all fishery management plans

(FMPs) prepared by the Council. The Draft SFA Amendment includes

alternative management measures for: (1) Reporting bycatch; (2)

minimizing bycatch or bycatch mortality; (3) specifying higher

standards for overfishing criteria that will restore fishery stocks to

maximum sustainable yield (MSY); and (4) establishing rebuilding

periods for overfished stocks, such as red snapper, king mackerel, and

red drum. The Draft SFA Amendment also identifies communities

economically dependent on fishing so that the impacts of fishery

management measures on these communities can be assessed.

The section on reporting bycatch discusses five alternatives

related to the submission of data by fishermen and vessel observers.

The Council recommends that NMFS collect bycatch information by the

most appropriate methods, but use mandatory observers only when the

Council recommends such an approach.

In the section on measures to minimize bycatch or bycatch

mortality, the Council recommends that stone crab traps used in Federal

waters be constructed according to Florida law.

In the section on overfishing criteria and stock rebuilding periods

for finfish, the Council recommends that MSY, optimum yield (OY), and

the overfishing thresholds be set at higher levels than in the existing

FMPs. For red snapper, the Council recommends setting MSY and the

overfishing threshold at 26-percent spawning potential ratio (SPR), and

OY at 36-percent SPR. For red drum, all the coastal migratory species

(including mackerels), and all reef fish species (except red snapper,

gag, Nassau grouper, and jewfish), the Council recommends setting MSY,

OY, and overfishing thresholds at 30-percent SPR. For Nassau grouper

and jewfish, the Council recommends setting MSY, OY, and the

overfishing threshold at 50-percent SPR. The Council has not selected a

proposal for gag. The effect of specifying overfishing criteria at

higher levels for the finfish stocks is that additional stocks may be

classified as overfished if NMFS approves the final SFA amendment in

1999.

The Council proposes to modify the rebuilding periods for two

overfished stocks. It proposes that red snapper be rebuilt by 2033, and

king mackerel by 2009. No rebuilding periods are proposed for red drum,

Nassau grouper, or jewfish because there was insufficient information

to compute the rebuilding periods.

Also, the Draft SFA Amendment does not contain proposed overfished

thresholds in terms of biomass (weight) for any of the finfish stocks

because there was insufficient information to compute these parameters.

The Draft SFA Amendment includes alternatives for overfished thresholds

that are expressed in terms of SPR.

In the section on overfishing criteria and stock rebuilding periods

for the crustacean fisheries, the Council has proposed setting MSY, OY,

and the overfishing thresholds for penaeid shrimp at or above the

parent stock numbers (as indexed from current virtual population

analysis (VPA) procedures) for the three penaeid species of shrimp in

the Gulf of Mexico: (1) Brown shrimp (125 million individuals, age 7+

months during the November through February period); (2) white shrimp

(330 million individuals, age 7+ months during the May through August

period); and (3) pink shrimp (100 million individuals, age 5+ months

during the July through June year). For royal red shrimp, the Council

proposes setting MSY, OY, and the overfishing threshold at 650,000 lb

(294,840 kg).

For spiny lobster, the Council proposes to set MSY and the

overfishing threshold at 20-percent transitional SPR or spawning stock

biomass per recruit, but OY would be set at 30-percent SPR. For stone

crab, the Council recommends setting MSY, OY, and the overfishing

threshold at the harvest level that results from a realized egg

production per recruit at or above 70 percent of potential production.

This harvest capacity is currently estimated to be between 3.0 and 3.5

million lb (between 1.36 and 1.58 million kg) of claws (minimum 70 mm

propodus length). Overfished thresholds are specified as one-half of

MSY or slightly higher for the crustacean stocks, none of which is

overfished.

Ten public hearings will be held to obtain public comments on the

Draft SFA Amendment (see Public Hearing Times and Locations). The

public comment period for the Draft SFA Amendment ends on January 4,

1999.

The Council will also hold public hearings on possible regulatory

changes to the management of gag and black grouper in Federal waters of

the Gulf of Mexico. Issues addressed in the draft regulatory amendment

for gag and black grouper include the following: (1) Specification of a

total allowable catch (TAC) for gag; (2) discussion of the allocation

of the gag TAC between recreational and commercial sectors; (3) a

minimum size limit increase for gag and black grouper from 20 to 24

inches (50.8 to 60.9 cm) total length; (4) a 2-fish recreational bag

limit for gag as part of the existing 5-fish aggregate grouper bag

limit; (5) a zero bag limit for gag for the captain and crew of

recreational for-hire vessels; (6) a commercial trip limit for gag; (7)

a closed season during peak gag spawning times; and (8) area closures

at gag spawning aggregation locations.

The Council currently has no preferred alternatives. However, in

its ``1998 Report to Congress on the Status of Fisheries of the United

States,'' NMFS identified gag in the Gulf of Mexico as a stock that,

while not currently overfished, is approaching an overfished condition.

Under the provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and

Management Act, the Council is required to take action to prevent

overfishing from occurring for stocks identified by NMFS as approaching

an overfished condition. The Council will decide which measures to

recommend to achieve that goal at its January 11 to 14, 1999, meeting

to be held in Biloxi, MS. Comments on the draft regulatory

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amendment for gag and black grouper must be received by January 4,

1999.

Public Hearing Times and Addresses

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

the following locations, except Panama City, FL, Orange Beach, AL, and

Larose, LA; where the hearings on the draft regulatory amendment for

gag and black grouper will be from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the

hearings on the Draft SFA Amendment will be from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00

p.m.

Monday, December 7, 1998--Pier House, One Duval Street, Key West,

FL--Draft gag and black grouper regulatory amendment;

Monday, December 7, 1998--Holiday Inn-Fort Brown, 1900 E. Elizabeth

Street, Brownsville, TX--Draft SFA Amendment;

Tuesday, December 8, 1998--Steinhatchee Elementary School,

1st Avenue South, Steinhatchee, FL--Draft gag and black

grouper regulatory amendment;

Tuesday, December 8, 1998--Pier House, One Duval Street, Key West,

FL--Draft SFA Amendment;

Tuesday, December 8, 1998--Port Aransas Civic Center Auditorium,

710 West Avenue A, Port Aransas, TX--Draft SFA Amendment;

Wednesday, December 9, 1998--City Hall Auditorium, 3001 Municipal

Drive, Madeira Beach, FL--Draft gag and black grouper regulatory

amendment;

Wednesday, December 9, 1998--Texas A&M Auditorium, 200 Seawolf

Parkway, Galveston, TX--Draft SFA Amendment;

Thursday, December 10, 1998--Courtyard Marriott, 4455 Metro

Parkway, Fort Myers, FL--Draft gag and black grouper regulatory

amendment;

Thursday, December 10, 1998--New Orleans Airport Hilton &

Conference Center, 901 Airline Highway, Kenner, LA--Draft SFA

Amendment;

Thursday, December 10, 1998--Ramada Airport Inn & Conference

Center, 5303 West Kennedy Boulevard, Tampa, FL--Draft SFA Amendment;

Monday, December 14, 1998--National Marine Fisheries Service Panama

City Laboratory, 3500 Delwood Beach Road, Panama City, FL--both the

Draft SFA Amendment and the draft gag and black grouper regulatory

amendment;

Tuesday, December 15, 1998--Orange Beach Community Center, 27235

Canal Road, Orange Beach, AL--both the Draft SFA Amendment and the

draft gag and black grouper regulatory amendment;

Wednesday, December 16, 1998--J. L. Scott Marine Education Center &

Aquarium, 115 East Beach Boulevard, US Highway 90, Biloxi, MS--Draft

SFA Amendment; and

Thursday, December 17, 1998--Larose Regional Park, 2001 East 5th

Street, Larose, LA--both the Draft SFA Amendment and the draft gag and

black grouper regulatory amendment.

Copies of the Draft SFA Amendment and the draft regulatory

amendment on gag and black grouper may be obtained by calling the

Council at 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 December 7, 1998.

Dated: November 24, 1998.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine

Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98-32038 Filed 12-1-98; 8:45 am]

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