March 12, 2025 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:
Members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council began their week-long meeting in Jekyll Island, GA with a focused look at issues facing the federal commercial snapper grouper fishery and continued to discuss several federal fishery issues throughout the week. The impacts of recent reductions in workforce at NOAA Fisheries were acknowledged as the Council considers future management measures for species such as Black Sea Bass, Golden Tilefish, and Atlantic King and Spanish Mackerels
Mackerel Port Meetings
A series of 16 in-person and six virtual port meetings were held along the Atlantic coast in 2024-25, focusing on the Atlantic King and Spanish Mackerel fisheries. The port meetings, held at the request of the Council’s Mackerel Cobia Advisory Panel, provided an opportunity for meeting attendees to discuss their perspectives with other fishery participants and local Council members. Council staff reviewed the comprehensive draft report from the port meetings and provided options for moving forward with the development of management actions.
The overview of the draft report divides the seven goals and objectives of the port meetings into three categories: 1) environmental conditions affecting the fisheries, for example, when and where the fish are available to fishermen; 2) any needed management changes; and 3) fishing dynamics. The report describes the fisheries by region and individual South Atlantic states, providing insight into the similarities and differences in these economically important fisheries. A total of 263 stakeholders, including private recreational, for-hire, and commercial fishermen participated in the meetings. “The idea of stakeholder meetings is something that was initiated by the advisory panel and has been a huge undertaking,” explained Tom Roller, Chair of the Mackerel Cobia Committee and Council representative from North Carolina. “Thank you to all of the fishermen that participated and kudos to the staff, states, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and other councils for their assistance in making this effort a success.”
Before determining how to move forward with management actions, the Council will consider input from its Mackerel Cobia Advisory Panel during the June 2025 Council meeting in Port Canaveral, Florida. The Council will also receive information from the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council on its coastal migratory pelagics stakeholder engagement efforts.
For-Hire Reporting Amendment
The Council received input from its For-Hire Reporting and Law Enforcement Advisory Panels on potential actions to improve for-hire reporting in the South Atlantic region. An amendment is under development with actions to address reporting frequency, trip declaration requirements, approved landing locations, collection of economic data, and a mandatory validation survey. Scoping on the amendment will be held prior to the Council’s June 2025 meeting.
Commercial Snapper Grouper Fishery
After reviewing input from its Snapper Grouper Commercial Sub-committee, the Council expressed an intent to develop an amendment addressing Snapper Grouper federal commercial permits and trip efficiency issues. Permit issues to consider may include revising the current 2 for 1 permit requirements, permit transfers, leasing of permitted vessels, limits for the number of permits that can be owned by an entity, and income requirements for “use it or lose” it provisions. Options to increase trip efficiencies may include an allowance for incidental catch and trip limit increases if landings are below a threshold by a specified date in the season. The Sub-Committee will meet again prior to the Council’s June meeting and continue discussion of commercial fishery issues.
Private Recreational Permit and Education Requirements
The Council continued discussion of Amendment 46 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan that would establish a federal private recreational permit in the Snapper Grouper Fishery. The permit system would help identify the universe of private anglers or vessels targeting those species and enhance the ability to collect recreational effort and catch data. The amendment also includes an education component associated with the permit to promote the use of best fishing practices. Public hearings on the amendment will be scheduled for later in 2025.
Red Snapper
After receiving a presentation from NOAA Fisheries on measures proposed in Secretarial Amendment 59 to end overfishing of Red Snapper and reduce dead discards, the Council discussed the proposed actions and will provide feedback and recommendations to NOAA Fisheries by March 17, 2025.
Additional Information
Additional information about the Council’s March 2025 meeting, including individual committee reports and reports from meetings of the Full Council, is now available from the Council’s website:https://safmc.net/events/march-2025-council-meeting/ The next meeting ofthe Council is scheduled for June 9-13, 2025, in Cape Canaveral, Florida..