Notices of upcoming public hearings and scoping meetings will be posted on the homepage. Copies of public hearing documents and related materials will be posted in this section of the Library as they become available. Additional information regarding these issues may also appear in recent copies of the South Atlantic Update Newsletter.

Public Hearing/Scoping Documents

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Snapper Grouper Amendment 14 - Deepwater Marine Protected Areas

Comments may be submitted until August 5, 2008. For more information, read NOAA Fisheries' Fishery Bulletin

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Spiny Lobster Amendment 8 - Minimum Import Size

Comments may be submitted until August 11, 2008. For more information, read NOAA Fisheries' Fishery Bulletin

Public hearings were held in May 2008 for the Fishery Ecosystem Plan and Comprehensive Ecosystem Amendment. A second round of public hearings is planned for October/November 2008.

Fishery Ecosystem Plan and Comprehensive Ecosystem Amendment - The Council is developing a Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) to act as a source document for various plan amendments. The Comprehensive Ecosystem Amendment (CEA) will amend the Coral Management Plan to establish deepwater coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPCs) and address requirements of the Essential Fish Habitat final rule. Several areas being considered for designation as HAPCs to provide protection of deepwater coral resources. Details, including maps and coordinates are included in the CEA Public Hearing Document. Alternatives in the CEA also include allowable golden crab fishing areas and requirements for Vessel Monitoring Systems. Proposals developed by the Council's Deepwater Shrimp Advisory Panel and Golden Crab Advisory Panel are also included.

CEA and FEP Public Hearing Summary (PDF) updated 6/25/08

Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) Public Hearing Draft: NOTE - Please be aware that some files may require a long time to download. The documents below are also available on CD upon request from the Council office.

FEP Volume I - Introduction and Overview of FEP for the South Atlantic Region
FEP Volume II - South Atlantic Habitats and Species (8.5 MB PDF)
FEP Volume III - South Atlantic Human and Institutional Environment (18.5 MB PDF)
FEP Volume IV - Threats to South Atlantic Ecosystem and Recommendations
FEP Volume V - South Atlantic Research Programs and Data Needs
FEP Volume VI - References and Appendices (will be posted when available)

CEA Public Hearing Draft (PDF)

NOTE: The following documents contain figures (maps) to accompany the public hearing draft document: Addendum 1 (4.3 MB PDF) Addendum 2 (15 MB PDF) Supplement

Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Appendix E
Appendix F
Appendix G
Appendix H
Appendix I
Appendix J