The meeting will be held April 16-19, 2012.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Omni Bayfront Hotel, 900 N.
Shoreline Boulevard, Corpus Christi, TX 78401; telephone: (361) 887-
1600.
    Council address: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 2203
North Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa, FL 33607.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Stephen Bortone, Executive
Director, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; telephone: (813)
348-1630.

Click below for agenda

Bottlenose dolphins in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, are showing signs of severe ill health, according to NOAA marine mammal biologists and their local, state, federal and other research partners. Barataria Bay, located in the northern Gulf of Mexico, received heavy and prolonged exposure to oil during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Based on comprehensive physicals of 32 live dolphins from Barataria Bay in the summer of 2011, preliminary results show that many of the dolphins in the study are underweight, anemic, have low blood sugar and/or some symptoms of liver and lung disease. Nearly half also have abnormally low levels of the hormones that help with stress response, metabolism and immune function.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will meet April 16 - 19, 2012, at the Omni Bayfront Hotel in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Council Committees will begin meeting Monday at 1:00 p.m. and will meet through noon Thursday. The full Council will convene at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, and is expected to adjourn by 3:00 p.m. Thursday. Agenda highlights are summarized below.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council reminds anglers that the recreational harvest of shallow-water groupers - except for gag - reopens April 1 within the 200-mile limit of the Gulf of Mexico federal waters.

The SEDAR 29 assessment of HMS blacktip shark will consist of a workshop and series of webinars. This notice is for webinars associated with the workshop portion of the SEDAR process.

Mackerel Amendments
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council has scheduled scoping meetings around the Gulf coast to discuss a proposed generic amendment addressing dealer permits and electronic logbook reporting, as well as two amendments to the Mackerel Fishery Management Plan.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a meeting of its Socioeconomic Scientific and Statistical Committee to discuss socioeconomic issues related to grouper allocation and the application of social indicators to coastal communities. The Committee will also discuss issues related to the red snapper individual fishing quota five-year review.

Copies of the meeting materials can be obtained by calling 813-348-1630. Materials will also be posted on the Council's FTP site at ftp.gulfcouncil.org.

NMFS is implementing management measures for the 2013 summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass recreational fisheries. This rule also implements an increase in the 2013 and 2014 black sea bass specifications, consistent with a new acceptable biological catch recommendation. The implementing regulations for these fisheries require NMFS to publish recreational measures for the fishing year. The intent of these measures is to prevent overfishing of the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass resources.

Effective June 20, 2013.

The New York State Small Business Storm Recovery Program was established to provide assistance to eligible small businesses, including farming and agricultural operations, and not-for-profit organizations that suffered direct physical damage and/or economic hardship as a result of Superstorm Sandy on or after October 29, 2012.  Hurricane Irene on or after August 28, 2011 or Tropical Storm Lee on or after September 7, 2011.

You may be eligible if...

If your business has been in operation in and located in a county designated for FEMA Individual Assistance including:

SuperStorm Sandy:  Nassau, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties.

Hurricane Irene:  Albany, Clinton, Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Greene, Herkimer, Montgomery, Nassau, Orange, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster, Warren, Washington, and Westchester counties.

Tropical Storm Lee:  Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Fulton, Herkimer, Oneida, Orange, Otsego, Schenectady, Schoharie, Tioga, and Ulster counties.

NOAA Fisheries has found that two petitions to list the dusky shark under the Endangered Species Act present substantial information that the petitioned action may be warranted. Therefore, the Endangered Species Act requires we make a determination of whether listing the Northwest Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico population of dusky shark as endangered or threatened is warranted within 12 months of the receipt of the first petition (November 14, 2013).