One of lifes simple pleasures, fishing, has been complicated by - TopicsExpress

One of lifes simple pleasures, fishing, has been complicated by federal regulation. You almost have to be a lawyer with concentration in environmental law to follow all of this. __Jim Zeigler Gulf Council to Meet in Mobile, Alabama The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will meet October 20 - 23, 2014, at the Battle House Renaissance Hotel in Mobile, Alabama. Committee meetings will convene Monday at 8:30 am, concluding Wednesday at 11:00 am. Some of the Committee highlights include: The Law Enforcement Committee, will meet jointly with the Law Enforcement Advisory Panel and the Gulf States Law Enforcement Committee to discuss the usefulness of charter-for-hire decals and to review a draft definition of charter fishing. The Committee will also discuss: Port Eads, Louisiana Marina Access; Office of Law Enforcement Gulf Restructuring; 2015-2016 Cooperative Enforcement Operations Plan; and State Report Highlights. The Red Drum Management Committee will review a scoping document for Recreational Red Drum Management and hear an update from the Special Red Drum Working group, which met at the end of September. The Data Collection Management Committee is meeting to hear a summary of the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) Calibration Workshop. Also on the Committee agenda are discussions regarding: South Atlantic Council Recommendations for Electronic Charter Boat Reporting; Species Reporting Requirements under the Joint Electronic Dealer Reporting Amendment; and Strategies to Improve Private Recreational Data Collection and Management. The Reef Fish Management Committee will meet to: Review Estimates of Red Snapper Abundance on Alabamas Offshore Reefs; Review Amendment 39 - Red Snapper Regional Management; Take Final Action on Amendment 40 - Recreational Red Snapper Sector Separation; Review the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program; Review the Gag Overfishing Limit (OFL) and Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC); Take Final Action on a Recreational Red Grouper Bag Limit and Accountability Measures Framework Action; Review Hogfish Benchmark Assessment OFL and ABC; Review Options Paper for Greater Amberjack Annual Catch Limit/Annual Catch Target; Discuss Amendment 28 - Red Snapper Allocation; and Hear Southeast Fisheries Science Center Comments on Red Snapper Abundance Graph. The Mackerel Management Committee is scheduled to take final action on Framework Amendment 2 for Atlantic Migratory Grouper Spanish Mackerel Trip Limits, and discuss King Mackerel Gill Net concerns. The Shrimp Management Committee will take final action on Amendment 15 - Status Determination Criteria for Penaeid Shrimp and Adjustments to the Shrimp Framework Procedure, as well as final action on Amendment 16 - Adjustments to the Annual Catch Limit and Accountability Measures for Royal Red Shrimp. The Committee will also review a Scoping Document addressing the Shrimp Permit Moratorium and receive an update on the 2013 Shrimp Effort and Electronic Logbook Program. Other committees meetings include: Administrative Policy and Budget/Personnel Committees Gulf SEDAR Committee to receive updates on the King Mackerel Assessment and the SEDAR Steering Committee meeting. The Committee will also review the SEDAR Schedule and Fishery Research and Socio-economic Priorities for 2015-2019. The full Council will convene Wednesday at 11:00 am to receive the following presentations: Proposed Rule Update for Aquaculture Evaluation of the Status of Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle Update on Red Snapper Federal Violations The Council will hear public testimony from 2:30 pm to 7:30 pm, with a break from 5:00 pm to 5:30 pm. Public testimony will be taken on: Final Action - Reef Fish Amendment 40 - Red Snapper Sector Separation Final Action - Shrimp Amendment 15 - Status Determination Criteria for Penaeid Shrimp and Adjustments to the Shrimp Framework Procedure Final Action - Shrimp Amendment 16 - Adjustments to the Annual Catch Limit and Accountability Measures for Royal Red Shrimp Final Action - Framework Action to Modify Recreational Red Grouper Bag Limits and Accountability Measures Final Action - Coastal Migratory Pelagics Framework Amendment 2 - Atlantic Migratory Group Spanish Mackerel Trip Limits Open Public Testimony on any other fishery issue or concern The full Council will resume Thursday at 8:30 am to deliberate and take action on committee recommendations made earlier in the week. Before adjourning, the Council will review and approve the draft 2015 Committee Appointments. The meeting will conclude by 5:30 pm Thursday. For a copy of the detailed agendas, or to watch the meeting live, please visit gulfcouncil.org/council_meetings/index.php or call 888-833-1844. Briefing materials can be downloaded from the Council FTP site at https://public.gulfcouncil.org:5001/webman/index.cgi - username and password are both gulfguest. About the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional Fishery Management Councils established by the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. The Council prepares fishery management plans, which are designed to manage fishery resources within the 200-mile limit of the Gulf of Mexico. Submit comments and stay updated on fishery issues: Check it out! Go to gulfcouncil.org and click on the thermometer in the middle of the page. From there you can read up on all the pending actions, watch the video presentations, read comments, and submit your own. All comments submitted through the online form are automatically posted on our web site for Council review. Other comments are manually posted every couple of days. There is also a thermometer for each issue that lets you know where the Council is in the process for that particular amendment, whether its the scoping phase, final action, or implementation.