South Atlantic Fishery Management Council

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December 2023 Council Meeting

Date/Time:
December 4, 2023 - December 8, 2023
Location:
The Beaufort Hotel, 2440 Lennoxville Road, Beaufort, NC
meeting agenda
news release
briefing book

Meeting Agenda & Briefing Materials

Except for advertised public hearings and public comment sessions, the timing of agenda items may change.

Committee Reports

The public comment session (Wednesday, December 6th, 2023, 4 p.m.), will allow for in-person and remote (via webinar) verbal public comment. Individuals intending to provide comments remotely are asked to sign up HERE. Those intending to provide verbal public comment in person will be asked to sign in at the meeting.

Written Comments:

Read public comments
Click here for additional comments:

Written comments submitted by mail/fax received by close of business the Monday before the meeting (November 27th, 2023) will be compiled, posted to the website as part of the meeting materials, and included in the administrative record.

Monday, December 4th, 2023

Council Session I/Belcher 8:30 am – 12:00 pm (Closed Session)

During this closed session, The Council will receive a litigation brief and discuss appointments to advisory bodies.

Lunch 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm

Council Session I/Belcher 1:30 pm – 5:00 pm

  1. Reports (NOAA Office of Law Enforcement, US Coast Guard, Council liaisons, state agencies)
    1. Attachment 1a: NOAA OLE Report (available in Recent Documents)
    2. Attachment 1b: NOAA OLE presentation (available at meeting)
    3. Attachment 1c: Gulf Council Liaison Report
    4. Attachment 1d: Congressional Activities Report (available in Recent Documents)
    5. Attachment 1e: Oct. 2023 Scientific and Statistical Committee Report (available in Recent Documents)
    6. Attachment 1f: Outreach and Communications Advisory Panel Report (October 2023)
  2. Southeast For-Hire Integrated Electronic Reporting (SEFHIER)
  3. Update on the reliability of commercial discard estimates

Tuesday, December 5th, 2023

Mackerel Cobia Committee/Roller 8:30 am – 10:00 am

  1. Advisory panel report
  2. CMP Framework Amendment 13 (Spanish Mackerel)
  3. Port meetings update

Dolphin Wahoo Committee/Marhefka 10:00 am – 11:00 am

  1. Advisory panel report
    1. Attachment 1a: Dolphin Wahoo Advisory Panel Summary Report
    2. Attachment 1b: Revised Wahoo Fishery Performance Report
  2. Update on Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) for Dolphin

Snapper Grouper Committee/McCawley 11:00 am – 12:00 noon

Lunch 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm

Snapper Grouper Committee/McCawley 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm

  1. Wreckfish (Amendment 48)
    1. Attachment 1a: Wreckfish Advisory Group Report
    2. Attachment 1b: Wreckfish Sub-Committee Report
  2. Private Recreational Permit (Amendment 46)
    1. Attachment 2a: Amendment 46 Decision Document
    2. Attachment 2b: Amendment 46 Draft Amendment

4:30-5:00 pm Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Comments from Janet Coit, Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries

Wednesday, December 6th, 2023

Got Historic Fishing Photos? Click here for more info!

Share them with the FISHstory project! Come to our scanning event at the Council Meeting on Wednesday, December 6th from 9am-6pm. We’ll scan and return hard copy photos, gather background information, and share digital copies back with photo providers. Contact julia.byrd@safmc.net or check out this flyer for more information.

Snapper Grouper Committee/McCawley 8:30 am – 12:00 noon

  1. Gag and Black Grouper Vessel Limit and On-Demand Gear for Black Sea Bass (Regulatory Amendment 36)
  2. Scamp/Yellowmouth Grouper (Amendment 55)
    1. Attachment 4a: Amendment 55 Draft Amendment
    2. Attachment 4b: Amendment 55 Decision Document
  3. Yellowtail Snapper (Amendment 44) Discussion

Lunch 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm

Snapper Grouper Committee/McCawley 1:30 pm – 3:45 pm

  1. Red Snapper (Regulatory Amendment 35)
  2. Best Fishing Practices Outreach Update
  3. AP recommendations on topics not on agenda

Public comments 4:00 pm

Public comment will be accepted from individuals attending the meeting (in-person and remotely) regarding any of the items on the Council agenda. The Council Chair, based on the number of individuals wishing to comment, will determine the amount of time provided to each commenter. Those intending to provide verbal public comment via webinar can sign up HERE.

Thursday, December 7th, 2023

Citizen Science Committee/Marhefka 8:30 am – 10:30 am

  1. Updated citizen science research priorities
    1. Attachment 1a: Citizen Science Research Priority Presentation
    2. Attachment 1b: SAFMC DRAFT Updated Citizen Science Research Priorities
    3. Attachment 1c: South Atlantic Research & Monitoring Plan for 2023-2027
  2. SciFish
    1. Attachment 2a: SciFish Update and Platform Presentation
    2. Attachment 2b: SciFish Policies and Procedures
  3. Citizen Science Program update

Habitat & Ecosystem Committee/Murphey 10:30 am – 12:00 noon

  1. Advisory panel report
    1. Attachment 1a: Habitat and Ecosystem Advisory Panel Report (November 2023)
    2. Attachment 1b: Habitat and Ecosystem Advisory Panel Report Presentation (November 2023)
  2. EFH 5-year review
  3. Habitat Blueprint
    1. Attachment 3a: Draft 2024-2029 Habitat Program Workplan
    2. Attachment 3b: Draft annual report outline
  4. Coral management

Lunch 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm

SEDAR Committee/Belcher 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm

  1. SEDAR Steering Committee Report
    1. Attachment 1a: October 2023 SEDAR Steering Committee Overview (available in Recent Documents)
    2. Attachment 1b: Project Planning Grid (available in Recent Documents)
  2. SEDAR 94 Terms of Reference
  3. SEDAR Schedule
  4. Species for 2027 assessment slots

COUNCIL SESSION II/Belcher 2:30pm – 5:00 pm

  1. Staff Report
  2. Council Coordination Committee Report
  3. Allocations Review Guidelines
  4. Stakeholder meetings
  5. Offshore wind activities
  6. Approve topics for Law Enforcement AP
  7. Agency reports

Friday, December 8th, 2023

COUNCIL SESSION II/Belcher 9:00 am – 12:00 noon

Committee reports

  1. Council Workplan
  2. Upcoming Meetings

Other business

Adjourn

The Beaufort Hotel, NC
summary motions

Recent Documents

Additional materials

Lightning talk presentations

FISHstory Scanning Event