The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a meeting of the Standing, Special Mackerel and Ecosystem Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSC) to review the final results of the SEDAR 28 cobia and Spanish mackerel benchmark assessments.
The meeting will convene at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 29, 2013 and conclude by 12 p.m. Friday, May 31, 2013.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Renaissance International
Plaza Hotel, 4200 Jim Walter Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33607; telephone:
(813) 877-9200.
Council address: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 2203 N.
Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa, FL 33607.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Atran, Population Dynamics
Statistician; Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; telephone:
(813) 348-1630.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Standing, Special Mackerel and Special
Reef Fish SSCs will initially meet jointly on Wednesday, May 29, 2013
to elect a chair and vice chair. Afterwards, the Standing and Special
Mackerel SSC will review the final results of the SEDAR 28 cobia and
Spanish mackerel benchmark assessments. The SSC previously reviewed the
assessments at its March 27-28, 2013 meeting, but was unable to
recommend acceptable biological catch (ABC) levels because a number of
questions remained on the use of certain parameters necessary to
produce the probability distribution functions (PDFs) needed to
determine overfishing limit (OFL) and ABC. These included whether to
use a proxy value for the fishing mortality rate at maximum sustainable
yield (MSY), what value to use for the steepness of the spawner-recruit
curve, and how to incorporate uncertainty with respect to the natural
mortality rate estimate into the results. The analysts sought advice
from the SSC at the March meeting, where it was determined that a proxy
based on 30% spawning potential ratio should be used for the fishing
mortality rate at MSY, a fixed steepness value of 0.8 be used for the
spawner-recruit curve, and a weighted average of PDFs under several
estimates of natural mortality be used to account for the uncertainty.
Based on the completed analyses, the SSC will determine whether to
accept the assessments, and if accepted, will recommend ABC for cobia
and Spanish mackerel. The SSC will also review terms of reference for
the upcoming SEDAR 38 (king mackerel) benchmark assessment, and will
solicit for participants in SEDAR 38 workshops.
Following the Standing and Special Mackerel SSC session, the
Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC will meet for the remainder of the
meeting on Wednesday, May 29, 2013 through Friday, May 31, 2013. The
SSC will receive a presentation on SEDAR 31 red snapper benchmark
assessment; determine whether to accept the assessment, and if
accepted, will recommend ABC for red snapper that is consistent with
the rebuilding plan. The SSC will also discuss the impact of explosive
oil and gas rig removals on the red snapper stock. Copies of the agenda
and other related materials can be obtained by calling (813) 348-1630
or can be downloaded from the Council's ftp site, ftp.gulfcouncil.org.
Although other non-emergency issues not on the agenda may come
before the Scientific and Statistical Committees 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 Scientific and Statistical
Committees 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.