Gulf Council Press Release: Gulf Council to convene its Standing, Special Shrimp and SpecialReef Fish Scientific & Statistical Committees

The Gulf Council’s Standing, Special Shrimp and Special Reef Fish Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSCs) will meet October 11 - 13, 2011. The meeting will be held at the Gulf Council Office – 2203 N. Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa, Florida beginning at 1 p.m. Tuesday, concluding by noon Thursday.

The Standing and Special Shrimp SSC will meet Tuesday to review benchmark stock assessments on brown shrimp, white shrimp, and pink shrimp, and may consider recommending definitions of overfishing limit and acceptable biological catch.

The remainder of the meeting will be a joint meeting of the Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC.  The Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC will review and make recommendations on the SEDAR stock assessment schedule.  The SSC will also:
* Review update assessments of gray triggerfish and vermilion snapper
* Recommend an overfishing limit and acceptable biological catch for those stocks
* Discuss data needs from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center in order to reevaluate the 2012 red snapper annual catch limit
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During this meeting a representative from the Southeast Regional Office will present the methodology used to calculate the length of the red snapper recreational season, as well as review decision tools for evaluating commercial and recreational greater amberjack management measures under proposed Reef Fish Amendment 35. 

The SSC will also hear a reports from the October 4-6, 2011 National SSC meeting and the September 15, 2011 Ecosystem SSC webinar.
Finally, the SSC will discuss possible revisions to the definition of optimum yield based on the revised National Standard 1 guidelines, and it will review the tentative schedule of SSC meetings planned for 2012.

Copies of the agenda and other related materials can be obtained by calling the Council office at 813-348-1630. Materials can also be downloaded from the Council’s ftp site – ftp.gulfcouncil.org <ftp://ftp.gulfcouncil.org> . The ftp server can also be accessed from the Gulf Council’s home page – www.gulfcouncil.org <http://www.gulfcouncil.org>  - under “Quick Links”.

Although other non-emergency issues not on the agenda may come before the SSCs for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (M-SFCMA), those issues may not be the subject of formal action during these meetings. Actions of the SSCs will be restricted to those issues specifically identified in the agenda, as well as any issues that may arise after publication of this notice that require emergency action under Section 305(c) M-SFCMA, provided the public has been notified of the Council's intent to take action to address the emergency.

This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Please direct requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids to Kathy Pereira at the Council at least 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 U.S. Gulf of Mexico. 

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