Gulf Council and Gulf & South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation to hold Smalltooth Sawfish Workshop

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council in conjunction with the Gulf & South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation will convene a two-day workshop to present the latest information and research on smalltooth sawfish. The workshop will bring together representatives from state agencies, NOAA Fisheries, research universities, industry and non-industry representatives to:

·    Present new information or conclusions on the status of the sawfish populations;

·    Present information and evaluate details of observed interactions;

·    Discuss the assumed post-release mortality rate for sawfish released from shrimp trawls based on recent observations;

·    Present information and consider potential efficacy of bycatch reduction technologies and strategies to minimize sawfish bycatch and catch mortality;

·    Present information and consider implications of shrimp fishing effort reduction; and

·    Form feasible options for minimizing sawfish bycatch and bycatch mortality to the extent practicable.

The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Suites, 4400 West Cypress Street, Tampa, FL  33607 and will convene at 1 pm Wednesday, December 1,1 2010, concluding by noon Thursday, December 2, 2010. Copies of the agenda and other related materials can be obtained by calling 813-286-8390

Although other issues not on the agenda may come up for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, those issues may not be the subject of formal panel action during this meeting. Panel action will be restricted to those issues specifically identified in the agenda listed as available by this notice.

This meeting is open to the public and is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Trish Kennedy five working days prior to the meeting. 

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional fishery management councils established by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. The Council prepares fishery management plans designed to manage fishery resources in the federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

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