Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management to Convene its Standing, Special Shrimp, and Special Reef Fish SSCs
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a meeting of its Standing, Special Shrimp, and Special Reef Fish Scientific and Statistical Committees beginning Tuesday, June 5, 2012, through Friday, June 8, 2012. The meeting will be held at the Gulf Council office, 2203 N. Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, in Tampa, Florida.
The Standing and Special Shrimp SSC will meet jointly June 5-6, 2012, to review benchmark stock assessments on brown shrimp, white shrimp and pink shrimp, and may consider recommending definitions of overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) based on those assessments.
June 7-8, 2012, the Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC will meet jointly. The Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC will receive a presentation on methods for setting ABC for stocks that have reliable catch data only. The SSC will also review recommendations from the ABC Control Rule Working Group on possible modifications to the ABC control rule that was adopted as part of the Generic Annual Catch Limits/Accountability Measures Amendment, and may make recommendations on modifications of the ABC control rule to the Council.
The SSC will also reconsider its earlier ABC recommendation for vermilion snapper and review proposed terms of reference for an upcoming SEDAR mutton snapper update assessment. A review of barotrauma issues is on the agenda, including a summary of a recent workshop on developments in methods and devices for returning fish to the water, and review of a published report by Dr. Gene Wilde on the effectiveness of venting on improving survival of released fish.
The following presentations will also be heard:
- Physiological effects of barotrauma by Dr. Karen Burns
- Marine mammal interactions with released fish by Dr. Greg Stuntz
The SSC may make recommendations regarding the current rules requiring possession of venting tools on vessels catching reef fish.
The Committee will also:
- discuss establishing status determination criteria for determining when stocks are overfished or experiencing undergoing overfishing for stocks that do not currently have such criteria;
- conduct a routine review of the schedule and priorities for upcoming SEDAR stock assessments;
- clarify a recent request that it be provided with an annual report on the status of Gulf gray triggerfish.
Copies of the agenda and other related materials can be obtained by calling 813-348-1630. Materials can also be downloaded from the Council's FTP site - ftp.gulfcouncil.org
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, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this meeting. Actions of the Committee will be restricted to those issues specifically identified in the agenda and any issues arising after publication of this notice that require emergency action under Section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 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. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aides should be directed to Kathy Pereira at least five working days prior to the meeting.
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