Gulf Council Update to Convene its Standing and Special Reef Fish Scientific and Statistical Committees

April 28, 2015 Gulf Council Update to Convene its  Standing and Special Reef Fish Scientific and Statistical Committees The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council's Standing and Special Reef Fish Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSCs) will meet Wednesday, May 20, 2015, from 8:30 am - 5:00 pm in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel.   The Committee will review scientific information for red snapper, gag, hogfish, and mutton snapper. Red Snapper For red snapper, the Council currently uses a proxy for the fishing mortality rate at maximum sustainable yield (MSY) of F26% SPR. The SSC will review analysis of alternative Fmsy proxies from 20% to 40% SPR. The committee will also review the effect of MRIP recalibrated recreational red snapper removals and selectivity on estimates of overfishing limits, acceptable biological catch, and maximum sustainable yield. Gag In response to concerns from fishermen that gag appear to have declined in abundance, The SSC will evaluate recent trends in gag catch per unit effort indices. Hogfish The Committee will review recommend the overfishing limit and acceptable biological catch for the Gulf hogfish stock. It will also review the South Atlantic SSC's overfishing limit and acceptable biological catch recommendations for the Florida Keys/South Atlantic hogfish stock which extends slightly into the Gulf Council's jurisdictional waters. Mutton Snapper Finally, for the mutton snapper stock, which crosses the South Atlantic/Gulf jurisdictional boundary, the SSC will review an analysis of two methods of determining the age distribution; and the South Atlantic SSC's recommendations for overfishing limit and acceptable biological catch. The SC will either concur with the South Atlantic SSC's recommendations or recommend an alternative overfishing limit and acceptable biological catch. A copy of the full agenda will be posted on the Council's FTP server at https://public.gulfcouncil.org:5001/webman/index.cgi. The username and password are both "gulfguest". Click on the "Library Folder" and scroll down to "SSC meeting -2015 - 05". The meeting will be webcast over the internet. A link to the webcast will be available on the Council's website http://gulfcouncil.org/council_meetings/Webinars.php. About the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional Fishery Management Councils established by the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. The Council prepares fishery management plans, which are designed to manage fishery resources within the 200-mile limit of the Gulf of Mexico.   Submit comments and stay updated on fishery issues: Check it out! Go to www.gulfcouncil.org and click on the thermometer in the middle of the page. From there you can read up on all the pending actions, watch the video presentations, read comments, and submit your own. All comments submitted through the online form are automatically posted on our web site for Council review. Other comments are manually posted every couple of days.

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