The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will meet January 26 – 29, 2009, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi at the Hollywood Casino, 711 Hollywood Boulevard. Council Committees will convene Mondaythrough Wednesday morning, with the full Council convening Wednesday afternoon through Thursday.Agenda highlights are summarized below. For a copy of the detailed agenda or to review briefing bookmaterials, please visit www.gulfcouncil.org or call 888-833-1844.The Ad Hoc Allocation Committee on Monday will review the allocation policy and discuss possible nextsteps for future committee assignments.The Joint Reef Fish/Mackerel/Red Drum Management Committee will conduct a final review of theproposed Aquaculture Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and make recommendations to the full Councillater in the week.Also on Monday, the Sustainable Fisheries/Ecosystem Committee will receive a status report on theGeneric Annual Catch Limits/Accountability Measures (ACL/AM) Amendment. Tuesday the Reef Fish Management Committee will receive the results of the commercial grouper/tilefish Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) referendum and take final action on Reef Fish Amendment 29, which proposes to rationalize effort and reduce overcapacity in the commercial grouper and tilefish fishery in order to achieve and maintain optimum yield. The committee will also review and discuss an Options Paper on proposed Reef Fish Amendment 31,which will address longline/turtle interactions in the bottom longline reef fish fishery. The Council directed staff to develop the amendment after receiving a report by the Southeast Fisheries Science Center that shows the estimated take of sea turtles in the bottom longline fishery in the Gulf of Mexico exceeds the authorized bycatch allowance. The Council is required by the Endangered Species Act to take action to protect threatened loggerhead sea turtles from fishing gear interactions. Similarly, National Standard 9 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires the Council to reduce bycatch to the extent practicable, and where it cannot be reduced, to reduce bycatch mortality.

Other items under consideration by the Reef Fish Management Committee include:

􀂾 White paper on the pros and cons of red snapper for-hire sector management

􀂾 Consideration of (re)allocation issues for species identified in Reef Fish Amendments 30A and 30B using the newly adopted allocation policy

􀂾 Presentation on a device designed to reduce release mortality

The Habitat Protection Committee will review the summaries of the Habitat AP meetings in late 2008, and the Mackerel Management Committee will review the King Mackerel Stock Assessment, along with the corresponding SSC and AP recommendations.

Tuesday evening the Council and the National Marine Fishery Service will host an informal Question andAnswer Session on Gulf of Mexico fishery management issues.Wednesday morning the Shrimp Management Committee will review the 2008 Texas Closure and determine whether to continue the closure for 2009. The management objectives of the closure are to increase the yield of brown shrimp and eliminate the waste of the resource caused by discarding undersized shrimp caught during a rapid growth period.Finally, the Joint SSC Selection/Administrative Policy Committee will discuss the National SSC Report, Council Policies in the SOPPs, and whether to disband the Operator Permits Committee.On Wednesday afternoon, January 28, 2009, the full Council will convene at 1:00 p.m. Public testimony is scheduled to begin at 1:15 p.m. Testimony will be accepted on Exempted Fishing Permits (if any), and final actionon the Aquaculture FMP and Reef Fish Amendment 29. The Council will also hold an open public comment session to give members of the public an opportunity to address the Council on fishery issues that may not be on the agenda. Open public comment will be taken for one hour immediately following public testimony.

Beginning at 5:30 Wednesday and running through Thursday afternoon, the full Council will meet todeliberate and take action on committee recommendations made earlier in the week.Although other non-emergency issues not on the agenda may come before the Council and Committees for discussion, in accordance with the M-SFCMA, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during these meetings. Actions of the Council and Committees will be restricted to those issues specifically identified in the agendas and any issues arising after publication of this notice that require emergency action under Section 305(c) of the M-SFCMA, provided the public has been notified of the Council's intent to take action to address the emergency. The established times for addressing items on the agenda may be adjusted as necessary to accommodate the timely completion of discussion relevant to the agenda items. In order to allow for such adjustments and completion of all items on the agenda, the meeting may be extended from, or completed prior to the date established in this notice. Meetings are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Tina O’Hern at the Council five days prior to the meeting.

_{^{(Recreational Fisherman)}}

_{2001 19' Cape Horn                                                                                                                    200 HPDI Yamaha                                                                                                 
Pensacola,FL                                                                                                                             
kniejac@hotmail.com}

_{><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º>  Christopher Knieja ><((((º>`·.¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·..¸><(((º>}         

                                                        _850-261-9409

_{Board Member of the PRFA http://www.fishpensacola.net} 

_{Member of the RFRA  http://www.reeffishra.com}        

Capt. Tony Blanton

Certified Marine Technician

Powerpole dealer and Outfitting specialist

SAMS SA Marine surveyor

http://powerpole.com/

_{^{(Recreational Fisherman)}}

_{2001 19' Cape Horn                                                                                                                    200 HPDI Yamaha                                                                                                 
Pensacola,FL                                                                                                                             
kniejac@hotmail.com}

_{><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º>  Christopher Knieja ><((((º>`·.¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·..¸><(((º>}         

                                                        _850-261-9409

_{Board Member of the PRFA http://www.fishpensacola.net} 

_{Member of the RFRA  http://www.reeffishra.com}