Saving Seafood

NOAA Announces New Gulf Red Snapper Catch Limits, Targets and Seasons

April 28, 2016 — NOAA Fisheries approved Amendment 28 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Amendment 28) submitted by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). A final rule implementing these measures will publish in the rFederal Register on April 28, 2016, with an effective date of May 31, 2016. As a result of this rule, NOAA provides notification of the 2016 private angling and federal for-hire red snapper fishing seasons.

The Council approved Amendment 28 to reallocate the red snapper harvest consistent with the 2014 red snapper update population assessment to ensure the allowable catch and recovery benefits from a rebuilding population are fairly and equitably allocated between commercial and recreational fishermen. The amendment reallocates the red snapper stock annual catch limit between the commercial and recreational sectors from 51:49 percent to 48.5:51.5 percent, respectively.

Read the full story at The Fishing Wire

Gulf Council Shifts Red Snapper Quota

August 25, 2015 — Debate over regional management of the Gulf of Mexico recreational red snapper fishery moved from Washington, D.C. to the Crescent City as the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council met for the fourth time this year. In a highly contested vote, the Council voted to remove snapper quota from the commercial fishery while allocating additional quota to the recreational sector.

The Council’s action on Reef Fish Amendment 28 would allocate the increase in allowable harvest due to recalibration of Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) catch estimates to the recreational sector. The resulting allocation for 2016 – 2017 would be 48.5% commercial and 51.5% recreational.

For years, Amendment 28 has gone through numerous iterations as it has been under consideration by the Gulf Council. The current red snapper fishery is divided almost 50-50 between the commercial and recreational sectors. Some alternatives considered in Amendment 28 could have shifted millions of pounds of fish and done untold damage to commercial fishermen, the seafood supply chain, restaurants and grocery stores.

The Council’s final action will retain a portion of the commercial red snapper quota in 2016 to ensure that the IFQ quota intended for reallocation is not distributed among commercial fishermen before Amendment 28 is implemented.

“Gulf Council members friendly to the commercial coalition were able to defeat Alternative 9, the effort to take approximately 1.2 million pounds of red snapper from the commercial sector, but were unable to stop the motion to reallocate 380,000 pounds of our commercial quota,” said Gulf Seafood Institute (GSI) Board President Harlon Pearce, owner of Harlon’s LA Fish in New Orleans. “Amendment 28 was passed with an allocation change of approximately a 2.5% shift in the recreational fishery’s favor, and is now being sent to the Secretary of Commerce for final approval.”

Read the full story at the Gulf Seafood Institute