The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will meet April 11 – 14, 2011, at the Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach, Alabama. Council Committees will convene Monday at 8:30 a.m. beginning with closed sessions and will meet through most of Wednesday. The full Council will convene at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. The Council is expected to adjourn by 4:15 p.m. Thursday. Agenda highlights are summarized below. For a copy of the detailed agenda or to review briefing book materials, please visit the Council web site at www.gulfcouncil.org <http://www.gulfcouncil.org> or call 888-833-1844.
The Joint Allocation and Reef Fish Management Committees will meet Monday afternoon at 4:00 to discuss Reef Fish Amendment 28, which addresses grouper allocation issues.
Beginning Tuesday morning at 8:30, the Sustainable Fisheries/Ecosystem Management Committee will meet to review a public hearing draft of the Generic Annual Catch Limit/Accountability Measure Amendment. The Committee will also review possible sector separation scenarios.
The Coastal Migratory Pelagics (Mackerel) Management Committee will then meet to review the public hearing draft of Amendment 18, which will establish annual catch limits and accountability measures for coastal migratory pelagics.
Immediately following committee recess on Tuesday, the Council and NOAA Fisheries will host an informal Question and Answer Session on Gulf of Mexico fishery management issues.
Wednesday the Reef Fish Management Committee will meet to discuss the following:
· Take final action on the gag interim rule
· Review of public hearing draft of Reef Fish Amendment 32
· Receive a report on the greater amberjack update assessment
· Receive a summary of the scoping meetings on the Earned Income/Crew Size Amendment
· Receive a report of the Reef Fish Limited Access Privilege Program Advisory Panel meeting
Finally, the Joint Shrimp/Reef Fish Management Committee will meet to discuss the adjustment to the shrimp trawl red snapper bycatch mortality target goal.
The full Council will convene Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. beginning with Fisheries 101. Public testimony will begin at 4:00 p.m., and will be accepted on exempted fishing permits (if any), and final action on the interim rule for gag. The Council will also hold an open public comment session to give members of the public an opportunity to address the Council on fishery issues that may not be on the agenda. Open public comment will be taken immediately following public testimony until 6:00 p.m. Comment cards must be completed before the start of public testimony.
Beginning Thursday at 8:30 a.m., the Council will receive presentations on fishery dependent/independent sampling and on the oil spill recovery in the Gulf of Mexico. The Council will then deliberate and take action on committee recommendations made earlier in the week. The meeting is expected to conclude by 4:15 p.m.
Although other non-emergency issues not on the agenda may come before the Council and Committees for discussion, in accordance with the M-SFCMA, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during these meetings. Actions of the Council and Committees 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 M-SFCMA, provided the public has been notified of the Council's intent to take action to address the emergency.
The established times for addressing items on the agenda may be adjusted as necessary to accommodate the timely completion of discussion relevant to the agenda items. In order to allow for such adjustments and completion of all items on the agenda, the meeting may be extended from, or completed prior to the date established in this notice. Meetings are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Kathy Pereira at the Council office five days prior to the meeting.
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