February 20, 2018 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:
Agenda Highlights
- Mackerel Cobia Committee
The committee will review public hearing comments and provide recommendations for any management jurisdictional changes for Atlantic cobia (GA to NY). The committee will also discuss possible changes to commercial trip limits for king mackerel. The Council will take public scoping comments during the meeting on options for changes to king mackerel trip limits.
- Citizen Science Committee
Development of the Council’s Citizen Science Program continues as the committee receives recommendations from the 5 Action Teams: Communication/Outreach/Education; Finance & Infrastructure; Data Management; Projects/Topics Management; and Volunteers.
- Snapper Grouper Committee
The committee will continue to discuss the Visioning Amendments (both recreational and commercial) and the Council could potentially approve them for public hearings. The committee will also continue work on Amendment 46 addressing recreational reporting and permitting. Options for a For-Hire Permit Moratorium will also be discussed. Dr. Kari MacLauchlin will give a presentation on the Socio-Economic profile of the South Atlantic snapper grouper commercial fishery.
- Exempted Fishing Permit
The Council will review a request for an Exempted Fishing Permit to conduct research and evaluate pelagic longline catch rates in a portion of the East Florida Coast pelagic longline closed area and provide recommendations. Learn more
Additional Meeting Information
Can’t attend? Watch the meeting live via webinar at it occurs! Webinar registration is required for each day of the meeting. Registration information – along with meeting materials including committee agendas, overviews, presentations, and documents – is available from the March 2018 Council Meeting page.
Public Q& A and Comment Sessions
Tuesday, March 6 – 4:30 PM
Informal Question & Answer Session
Join NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator Dr. Roy Crabtree, Council Chair Charlie Phillips and others for an informal Q&A session to discuss topics relative to the meeting agenda.
Wednesday, March 7 – 4:30 PM
Formal public comment
The Council will accept comments on meeting agenda items. The Council Chair, based on the number of individuals wishing to comment, will determine the amount of time provided to each commenter.
Learn more about the SAFMC by visiting their site here.