NMFS intends to hold an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Advisory Panel Meeting on September 19-21, 2012, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 8120 Wisconsin Ave, Bethesda, MD.  The intent of this meeting is to consider alternatives for the conservation and management of Atlantic tunas, swordfish, billfish, and sharks. 

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council met in New Orleans, Louisiana, August 20 - 23, 2012, to discuss a number of fishery issues. During the weeklong meeting, the Council took the following actions: 

The recreational harvest season for snook opens Sept. 1 in Florida’s Atlantic coastal and inland waters, including Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River. The season remains closed in all Gulf of Mexico waters, including Everglades National Park and Monroe County, through Aug. 31, 2013.

The SEDAR 28 assessment of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Spanish mackerel and cobia fisheries will consist of a series of workshops and supplemental webinars. This notice is for a webinar associated with the Assessment portion of the SEDAR process.

The SEDAR 28 Assessment Workshop Webinar 8 will be held on September 12, 2012, 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. EDT. The established time may be adjusted as necessary to accommodate the timely completion of discussion relevant to the assessment process. Such adjustments may result in the meeting being extended from, or completed prior to, the times established by this notice.

We, NMFS, announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list the queen conch (Strombus gigas) as threatened or endangered and designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We find that the petition and information in our files present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. We will conduct a status review of the species to determine if the petitioned action is warranted. To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, we are soliciting scientific and commercial information regarding this species (see below).

Information and comments on the subject action must be received by October 26, 2012.

According to President Capt. Bob Zales, II, on Thursday, August 23, 2012, the Gulf Council, by a vote of 11-5, tabled Amendment 28, which included sector separation and allocations of species between sectors until the pending recreational red snapper benchmark stock assessment is presented to the Council in 2013.  

The SEDAR Data workshop for red snapper will be held next week (August 20th-25th) at the Crown Plaza in Pensacola, Florida.  As you know this is the first step of the assessment process. 

FWC increases lionfish harvest opportunities, asks public to help

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) announced changes to the lionfish harvest at a media event in Coral Gables. Harvesting invasive lionfish no longer will require a fishing license when using certain gear, and there is no recreational or commercial bag limit. The FWC is taking these actions to encourage more Floridians and visitors to harvest lionfish. 

This request is for an extension of a currently approved information collection.

The National Marine Sanctuaries Act authorizes the use of research and monitoring within National Marine Sanctuaries (NMS). In 1996, the Flower Gardens Bank National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) was added to the system of NMS via 15 CFR part 922, subpart L. In 2001, Stetson Bank was added in a revision of 15 CFR part 922.

On a night dive near Key Largo, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) researchers saw something previously unseen in the state: male and female pillar coral spawning together.