Saving Seafood

NOAA Announces 2017 Limited Opening of Recreational and Commercial Red Snapper Fishery in South Atlantic Federal Waters

October 27, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries: 

KEY MESSAGE:

  • Red snapper recreational and commercial seasons will open in South Atlantic federal waters for limited harvest in 2017 through emergency action.
  • The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council requested the opening after recent scientific information indicated a large increase in the size of the red snapper population since 2010.
  • NOAA Fisheries determined the limited harvest in 2017 is neither expected to result in overfishing, nor prevent continued rebuilding of the population.WHEN RULE WILL TAKE EFFECT:
  • The recreational sector will open for harvest on weekends only (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) on the following days:
    • November 3, 4, and 5, 2017 – The recreational season opens at 12:01 a.m., local time, on November 3, 2017, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on November 6, 2017.
    • November 10, 11, and 12, 2017 – The recreational season opens again at 12:01 a.m., local time, on November 10, 2017, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on November 13, 2017.
  • The commercial sector will open for harvest upon implementation of the emergency rule at 12:01 a.m., local time, on November 2, 2017, and will close at 11:59 p.m., local time, on December 31, 2017, unless the commercial annual catch limit is met or projected to be met before this date.
    • NOAA Fisheries will announce if the commercial sector needs to close before 11:59 p.m., local time, on December 31, 2017.

 THE REGULATIONS DURING THE LIMITED SEASONS ARE:

  • For the recreational sector, the bag limit is one red snapper per person per day. This applies to private and charterboat/headboat vessels (the captain and crew on for-hire vessels may retain the recreational bag limit).
  • For the commercial sector, the trip limit is 75 pounds gutted weight.
  • There are no minimum size limits for the recreational and commercial sectors.
  • The recreational and commercial catch limits are 29,656 fish and 124,815 pounds whole weight, respectively.

This bulletin serves as a Small Entity Compliance Guide, complying with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.

 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) 

When are the 2017 South Atlantic recreational and commercial red snapper seasons?

  • The recreational sector will open for harvest on weekends only (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) on the following days:
    • November 3, 4, and 5, 2017 – The recreational season opens at 12:01 a.m., local time, on November 3, 2017, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on November 6, 2017.
    • November 10, 11, and 12, 2017 – The recreational season opens again at 12:01 a.m., local time, on November 10, 2017, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on November 13, 2017.
  • The commercial sector will open for harvest upon implementation of the emergency rule at 12:01 a.m., local time, on November 2, 2017, and will close at 11:59 p.m., local time, on December 31, 2017, unless the commercial annual catch limit is met or projected to be met before this date.
    NOAA Fisheries will announce if the commercial sector needs to close before December 31, 2017.

    • NOAA Fisheries will announce if the commercial sector needs to close before December 31, 2017.

What are the regulations for red snapper during these seasons?

    • Recreational annual catch limit of 29,656 fish.
    • The recreational bag limit is one red snapper per person per day.
    • Commercial annual catch limit of 124,815 pounds whole weight.
    • The commercial trip limit is 75 pounds gutted weight.
    • There is no minimum size limit for both the recreational and commercial sectors.

What is the history of red snapper harvest and prohibitions in the South Atlantic Region?  

  • Harvest of red snapper from South Atlantic federal waters was prohibited in 2010 when the population was determined to be severely overfished and undergoing overfishing (Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review [SEDAR] 15).
  • Amendment 28 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region established a process that allowed harvest if total removals (landings plus dead discards) were below the acceptable biological catch in the previous year.
  • Limited harvest of red snapper was allowed in 2012, 2013, and 2014.
  • The estimated total removals of red snapper exceeded the acceptable biological catch in 2014, 2015, and 2016, resulting in no allowable harvest since 2014.

What is the current status of the red snapper population in the South Atlantic Region?

  • The latest population assessment (SEDAR 41) was completed in 2016 and revised in 2017. It indicated the South Atlantic red snapper population is overfished and undergoing overfishing; however, the population is rebuilding.
  • The red snapper overfishing determination in the assessment came from 2012-2014 when only a small amount of harvest was allowed to occur. However, discards during this time period were high due to fishermen targeting species that co-occur with red snapper, which likely contributed to the overfishing determination.
  • SEDAR 41 stated that recreational discards were one of the most important and uncertain sources of information used in the stock assessment during the harvest prohibition from 2010-2014.
  • The harvest prohibition in 2015 and 2016 has contributed towards addressing overfishing of red snapper supported by an increase in population biomass of red snapper since 2010.

Why is limited harvest of red snapper being allowed in 2017?

  • Recently available fisheries independent studies by the Southeast Reef Fish Survey program available here and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission available here have shown relative abundance of red snapper has increased since 2014, and was highest in 2017.
  • The scientific studies also show a greater number of large red snapper and a broader range of ages in recent years suggesting rebuilding of the red snapper population despite the limited harvest allowed in 2012, 2013, and 2014.
  • The total annual catch limit implemented by this temporary rule equals the landings of red snapper during the limited harvest in 2014.
  • The harvest prohibitions of red snapper since 2010 have resulted in adverse socio-economic effects to fishermen and fishing communities such as loss of additional revenue and recreational opportunities, as well as indirect benefits to businesses that provide supplies for fishing trips.
  • Collection of fishery dependent data is limited during harvest prohibitions. Federal and state personnel will collect information, including catch data and biological samples during the open season in 2017, which will inform future population assessments for red snapper.

How will the limited harvest in 2017 affect the overfishing and overfished status of red snapper?

  • NOAA Fisheries has determined that the limited harvest in 2017 is not expected to result in overfishing and will not prevent the continued rebuilding of the red snapper population.

What are some Best Fishing Practices while fishing for red snapper?
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council identified the following best practices to reduce release mortality and further protect the population as it rebuilds:

    • Avoid areas likely to have red snapper if you already have met your recreational bag limit. If you are approaching your commercial vessel limit, move to a different area.
    • When red snapper are out of season, avoid areas where they are common.
    • Use single hook rigs since the recreational bag limit for red snapper during the limited fishing season is one per person per day. This will potentially reduce the number of red snapper that are caught on one drop.
    • Use a dehooking device to remove the hook. Keep fish in the water if you plan to release them or return them as quickly as possible.
    • Use descending devices when releasing fish with signs of barotrauma.

Where can I find more information on the environmental assessment and temporary final rule through emergency action?

  • Contact NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Regional Office

By Mail: Nikhil Mehta

NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Regional Office

Sustainable Fisheries Division

263 13th Avenue South

St. Petersburg, Florida 33701-5505

By FAX: (727) 824-5308

By Phone: (727) 824-5305

The environmental assessment and temporary final rule through emergency action may be found online at the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office Web site at: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/s_atl/sg/2017/red_snapper_er_2017/index.html 

Additional information on management of red snapper in the South Atlantic may be found at: http://safmc.net/regulations/regulations-by-species/red-snapper/

Access this and other Fishery Bulletins from NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office by clicking here.

 

Unmanaged Forage Amendment Public Hearings: May 17 – June 8

May 13, 2016 — The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold seven public hearings in May and June 2016 to solicit public input on the Unmanaged Forage Omnibus Amendment. The Council is also soliciting written comments on the amendment through 11:59 pm on Friday June 17, 2016. The goal of this amendment is to prohibit the development of new and expansion of existing directed commercial fisheries on unmanaged forage species in Mid-Atlantic Federal waters until the Council has had an adequate opportunity to both assess the scientific information relating to any new or expanded directed fisheries and consider potential impacts to existing fisheries, fishing communities, and the marine ecosystem.

Read the full story at CNB News 

RHODE ISLAND: Challenges facing commercial fishing industry topic of forum at RIC

April 11, 2016 — Is commercial fishing sustainable?

A panel of government regulators, scientists, environmental advocates and fishermen will try to answer that and other questions about the future of one of New England’s most iconic and important industries at a forum this Thursday.

The event, which is free and open to the public, runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at Sapinsley Hall in the Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts at Rhode Island College. It is being presented by The Providence Journal, Rhode Island College, Leadership Rhode Island and Mystic Aquarium.

The forum comes at a time when the fishing industry is confronted with a host of challenges.

See the full story at The Providence Journal 

ALASKA: Lawmakers rewrite fisheries tax bill

April 8, 2016 — JUNEAU, Alaska — A House fisheries committee advanced a rewrite of Gov. Bill Walker’s fisheries tax bill on Tuesday, diverting half of the potential revenue into a seafood marketing fund.

The bill, one of six proposed taxes on industries from Walker, could raise an additional $18 million in revenue by adding a 1-percent tax increase to portions of the commercial fishing industry.

The new language requires that one-half of the tax increase be deposited into a newly created Alaska Seafood Marketing Fund. The Legislature also is given the option to appropriate the marketing fund to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

Seafood marketing has been an ongoing fight in the Legislature. Both the House and the Senate cut the marketing institute’s budget in their respective versions of the state operating budget. Lawmakers said they wanted to see the institute become self-sustaining, with the Senate declaring that it wanted to see a plan by 2017 on how the institute would wean itself off of the general fund by 2019. The operating budget has yet to be finalized.

After the committee voted to move the bill to House Finance, chair Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, asked for an update from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the Alaska Department of Revenue on taxing issues raised during public testimony on the bill.

See the full story at Homer News

Trip Limit Decreased to 500 Pounds per Trip for Commercial Harvest of Gag in the South Atlantic

October 13, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Trip Limit Decreased to 500 Pounds per Trip for Commercial Harvest of Gag in the South Atlantic

The daily trip limit for the commercial harvest of gag in the South Atlantic is reduced from 1,000 pounds gutted weight to 500 pounds gutted weight, effective 12:01 a.m. (local time) October 18, 2015. NOAA Fisheries has determined 75 percent of the quota of 295,459 pounds gutted weight has been landed.

Reduction of the commercial gag trip limit in the South Atlantic complies with regulations implemented under the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region. The 500-pound gutted weight trip limit applies to vessels with a South Atlantic Unlimited Snapper-Grouper Permit fishing for gag in or from the federal waters in the South Atlantic region. The 500-pound gutted weight trip limit will remain in effect until the quota is reached and gag closes or until the end of the current 2015 fishing season, whichever occurs first.

Feds: Eels prized by fishermen aren’t a threatened species

October 7, 2015 — PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — American eels will not be listed under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday, a victory for fishermen who catch the increasingly valuable species.

The wildlife service rejected a petition from the California-based Center for Environmental Science, Accuracy & Reliability to list the eels — prized in Asian cuisine — as threatened.

The petitioners argued that the eels have lost more than 80 percent of their habitat and that the stock is jeopardized by commercial fishing. But the wildlife service issued a report Wednesday saying that “there have been large declines in abundance from historical times,” but the species “currently appears to be stable.”

Fishermen and fishing advocacy groups campaigned against additional protections for eels. Listing them under the Endangered Species Act would have severely limited the ability to harvest them as a commercial species, and they can be of high economic value because of their use in sushi.

Maine baby eels were worth more than $2,100 per pound in 2015, up from less than $100 per pound in 2009. The baby eels, called elvers, are sold to Asian aquaculture companies that raise them to maturity and use them as food.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at SFGate

 

Fish landing app keeps track of boats, catch

September 16, 2015 — With a mobile phone, fishery stakeholders can now find out where commercial fishing boats are located as well as the type of species these have caught.

This is possible with a Fish Landing App recently launched in the Philippines by marine scientist, Dr. Stephen Box, who presented it through a web conference from his office at the Smithsonian Marine Station at Port Pierce in Florida. He serves as the institute’s program coordinator of the Integrated Marine Planning and Conservation Tools.

The mobile app—that also includes a fisherfolk registry and vessel monitoring system—was designed for Android devices and can be used by industry stakeholders and organizations. This will enable them to obtain data such as fish species, frequented fishing grounds, and the profile of fishers, said Box, who co-developed the app.

Read the full story at Manila Bulletin

 

Making the Seas Safer for Fishermen

July 30, 2015 — SITKA, Alaska — Ed Mertz likes to fish, but these days he won’t stray too far from shore. “I’m still kind of chicken,” he says as he casts weighted troll lines in an inlet close to his home in Sitka, in southeastern Alaska. “I look at that forecast, and if it’s not good, it’s like, I don’t want to go.” In 1983, Mertz, now 62, was working on a six-man fishing vessel when it ran aground, flooded, and sank in Alaskan waters. He and two fellow fishermen scrambled onto some rocks, where they spent a bitterly cold night huddled together in survival suits. The bodies of the three others were found the following day by a Coast Guard rescue helicopter.

Commercial fishing has for decades been among the most dangerous professions in America. The most recently available figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 2013, show fishermen were about 36 times more likely to die on the job than the average worker. Yet government efforts to address the safety problems have been slow. “The administration and Congress haven’t done their job,” says J.J. Bartlett, president of the Fishing Partnership, an advocacy group representing commercial fishermen. “It’s meant that fishermen are dying unnecessarily.”

After Congress passed the 2010 Coast Guard Authorization Act, which updated fishing industry safety standards for the first time since 1988, activists like Bartlett were grateful their concerns were being taken seriously: Life rafts would be improved, safety training would become mandatory for fishing captains, and new boats would be built to standards set and verified by independent third parties called “class societies.”

Read the full story at Bloomberg Businessweek