This is a publication of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council pursuant to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Award No. NA97FC0010.

NEWS RELEASE
RELEASE: IMMEDIATELY
CONTACT: STEVEN ATRAN

PUBLIC SCOPING WORKSHOPS SCHEDULED ON USE OF MARINE RESERVES IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

Tampa, Florida - July 16, 1999 - The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a series of 10 public workshops on the possible use of marine reserves as a fishery management tool in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. These workshops are to introduce the concept of marine reserves, i.e., zones of restricted or no fishing, to the public, to solicit public comment on whether they are an appropriate tool to use for fishery management in the Gulf of Mexico and if so, how they should be used. There will be no specific options to create marine reserves presented at these workshops, but the comments provided by the workshop participants will be considered by the Council in deciding whether and how to proceed with the development of marine reserves. The Council intends to use an outside facilitator to gain the greatest amount of input from participants and avoid any perceptions of bias.

The workshops will be held from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the following dates and locations.

Copies of the scoping documents that will be used at the workshops, Marine Reserves for Fisheries Management: Questions and Answers and, Marine Reserves Technical Document can be obtained by calling the Council office at 813-228-2815. The documents can also be downloaded from the Council’s web site at http://www.gulfcouncil.org.

These meetings are open to the public and are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to the Council office by August 2, 1999.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is 1 of 8 regional fishery management councils that were established by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council prepares fishery management plans that are designed to manage fishery resources in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

This news release, and other Council news releases, can be viewed at the Council’s web site, http://www.gulfcouncil.org. In addition, Council press releases may be received via e-mail by sending a blank e-mail message to pressreleases@gulfcouncil.org with SUBSCRIBE as the subject.

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