The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a meeting of the Special Reef Fish Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSC), including a joint session of the Standing SSC and Socioeconomic SSC, and a joint session of the Gulf Council's Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC with the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council's SSC; and a separate meeting of the Socioeconomic Scientific and Statistical Committee.
The Special Reef Fish SSC meeting will convene at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, October 10, 2012, and conclude by noon, Thursday, October 11, 2012. The Socioeconomic SSC meeting will convene at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, October 10th and conclude by 5 p.m. Thursday, October 11, 2012.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, 2900 Bayport Drive, Tampa, FL 33607; telephone: (813) 874-1234.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Atran, Population Dynamics Statistician. For the Socioeconomic SSC: Dr. Assane Diagne, Economist; both located at Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; telephone: (813) 348-1630.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On Wednesday morning, October 10, 2012, from 9 a.m. to noon, the Standing SSC will meet jointly with the Socioeconomic SSC to discuss the roles of the Standing and Socioeconomic SSCs. On Wednesday afternoon, October 10, 2012, from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., the Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC will meet jointly with the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council's SSC to review a yellowtail snapper benchmark assessment (SEDAR 27). Based on the assessment, the SSCs will determine an OFL and set an ABC for the stock as a whole. For management purposes, the ABC will be apportioned 75% to the South Atlantic and 25% to the Gulf. On Thursday, October 11, 2012, the Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC will meet jointly to review and approve the terms of reference for gag and greater amberjack benchmark assessments (SEDAR 34) and select attendees for the gag benchmark assessment workshops. In addition, the SSC will discuss review methods for the SEDAR 28 (Gulf of Mexico Spanish Mackerel and Cobia) benchmark assessment. The SSC will also review recommendations from the ABC Control Rule Working Group on revisions to the ABC control rule implemented in January 2012 under the Generic Annual Catch Limits/Accountability Measures Amendment. Finally, the SSC will review the SEDAR assessment schedule and priorities, and proposed dates for 2013 SSC meetings.
The Socioeconomic Scientific and Statistical Committee will convene on Wednesday, October 10 and Thursday, October 11 to discuss the structure and roles of the Scientific and Statistical Committees and issues related to the red snapper individual fishing quota (IFQ) program and its 5-year review, including an evaluation of the economic performance of the program, the 2011 red snapper IFQ report, IFQ survey results, trends in the program, and the review process. The committee will also discuss issues related to the allocation of red snapper resources, including an economic evaluation of red snapper allocation and social aspects of allocation. The committee also plans to elect a new chair and vice-chair.
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.