The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a meeting of its Standing and Special Reef Fish Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSCs) Thursday, November 8, 2012, via webinar. The webinar will begin at 1 pm and will conclude by 5 pm.
The Standing and Special Reef Fish SSCs will meet jointly to review an analysis of the 2012 red snapper overharvest. Under a rule published May 30, 2012 [77 FR 31734], the acceptable biological catch for red snapper was set at 8.080 million pounds for 2013 and 8.690 million pounds for 2012, with 51 percent of the acceptable biological catch allocated to a commercial quota and 49 percent to a recreational quota. The increase in the 2013 acceptable biological catch was contingent upon catch levels remaining within the 2012 stock acceptable biological catch. Preliminary estimates indicate that the 2012 recreational red snapper quota of 3.959 million pounds was exceeded by 440,000 - 840,000 pounds. As a result, the National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Fisheries Science Center will evaluate the effect of this overharvest on the red snapper rebuilding plan. Based on the results of the analysis, the SSC will determine whether the acceptable biological catch can be increased to the 2013 level, should remain at the 2012 level, or should be set to some other level.
Copies of the agenda and other related materials can be obtained by calling 813-348-1630. Materials can also be downloaded from the Council's FTP site - ftp.gulfcouncil.org. To view the webinar online, visit http://www.gulfcouncil.org/council_meetings/Webinars.php to register.
Although other non-emergency issues not on the agenda may come before the SSCs 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 Committee 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.
This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Kathy Pereira at least five working days prior to the meeting.