The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene its Ad Hoc Artificial Substrate Advisory Panel Thursday, February 28, 2013, from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. The meeting will be held at the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council office, 2203 N. Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, in Tampa, Florida.
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene its Ad Hoc Private Recreational Data Collection Advisory Panel Tuesday, February 26, 2013, from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. The meeting will be held at the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council office, 2203 N. Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, in Tampa, Florida.
At a ceremony at the Florida Public Safety Institute near Tallahassee, the members of FWC’s 19th officer class pledged their efforts to patrol Florida’s lands and waters, protect its people and preserve its resources.
BP posted a drop in profit for the fourth quarter as its oil and gas production continued to fall and it agreed to pay billions of dollars in fines to the U.S. government, a performance that analysts said showed the company is still struggling to recover from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council announced the dates for upcoming public engagement sessions to provide early opportunities for initial input into the Comprehensive Plan for Gulf Coast restoration. Public engagement sessions will be held in Mississippi on February 19, in Louisiana on February 19, 20 and 21, and in Florida on February 28. The Council will announce additional dates and locations via the Council’s website as they become available.
Amendment 37 proposes to modify the gray triggerfish rebuilding plan; revise the commercial and recreational sector's annual catch limits (ACLs) and annual catch targets (ACTs) for gray triggerfish; revise the recreational sector accountability measures (AMs) for gray triggerfish; revise the gray triggerfish recreational bag limit; establish a commercial trip limit for gray triggerfish; and establish a fixed closed season for the gray triggerfish commercial and recreational sectors.
The intent of Amendment 37 is to end overfishing of gray triggerfish and help achieve optimum yield (OY) for the gray triggerfish resource in accordance with the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
Written comments must be received on or before March 26, 2013.
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council previously published a NOI for the Fishery Management Plan for Regulating Offshore Marine Aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico. A notice of availability for the draft programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) was published on September 12, 2008. On June 26, 2009, a notice of availability was published for the final PEIS.
This supplemental NOI is intended to inform the public of NMFS and the Council's decision to consider new information from the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) MC252 blowout. This information is needed in order to consider potential changes to the environment linked to the DWH blowout and determine if and how such changes may affect the actions and alternatives analyzed in the FMP. Comments are being solicited on the range of issues related to the DWH blowout to be addressed in the SFPEIS.
Written comments on the range of issues to be addressed in the SFPEIS will be accepted until February 25, 2013.
National Park Service (NPS), Interior- Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Personal Watercraft Use at Gulf Islands National Seashore, Florida and Mississippi.
Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the NPS is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the impacts of Personal Watercraft (PWC) use at Gulf Islands National Seashore (GUIS).
The SEDAR 33 assessment of the Gulf of Mexico gag grouper and
greater amberjack fisheries will consist of: a Data Workshop; and a series of Assessment process webinars; and a Review Workshop. This notice pertains to a conference call to take place prior to the Data Workshop.
The SEDAR 33 data scoping conference call will be held on March 1, 2013 at 10 a.m.
The SEDAR 31 assessment of the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery will consist of a series of workshops and supplemental webinars. This notice is for webinars associated with the Assessment portion of the SEDAR process.
The SEDAR 31 Assessment Workshop webinars will be held on: February 21, 2013; February 28, 2013; March 7, 2013; March 14, 2013; and March 21, 2013. All webinars are scheduled from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. EDT.