Saving Seafood

Can Gulf fishermen balance the fishery management council?

June 7, 2023 — For four generations, my family has been putting food on the table, both on our own and the nation’s, by fishing the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. You may say that it is in my blood, but the truth is fishing is in my heart – it’s part of my identity.

One thing that we’ve come to count on is that the decision-makers that manage our fisheries balance the need to produce sustainable domestic seafood, support fishing communities and provide recreational opportunities, while retaining plenty of fish in the water to ensure a good catch in following years.  But now, I’m worried about the future of fishing in the Gulf. A big part of my concern can be tied to the lack of balanced representation on the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.  We must ask ourselves, has maintaining sustainable fisheries taken a backseat to cronyism?

Not too long ago, fisheries management in the Gulf was working. Fish stocks were increasing, small family businesses were thriving and profitable, and we had fair representation in the management process. However, in the past few years that trend has reversed, and now species like gag and greater amberjack are facing 80 percent quota reductions because the stocks are not healthy. Coinciding with this downturn is a dramatic shift away from a well-balanced Gulf Council membership to one that is dominated by just a single sector—the private recreational sector.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Gulf of Mexico charter captains wade into red grouper court case

September 8, 2022 — Commercial fishermen who are challenging a major shift of Gulf of Mexico red grouper quotas to the recreational sector have drawn the surprising support of charter boat operators, who argue the revised quotas would hurt their businesses as well.

On its face, the decision by the National Marine Fisheries Service to ratify the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s new allocation policy would give the charter fleet more fish too. But the change will bring other outcomes to hurt the charter sector, said captain Scott Hickman, operator of Circle H Outfitters and Charters in Galveston, Texas, and a board member of the Charter Fishermen’s Association.

“We’ve been down this road before,” said Hickman. “You set a precedent for taking quota from an accountable sector, and dropping it into a black hole.”

Announced by NMFS this spring, Amendment 53 to the Gulf reef fish plan would reduce the annual commercial allocation to 59.3 percent, down from 76 percent, and increase the recreational allocation from 24 percent to 40.7 percent.

The move is being challenged in federal district court by the Galveston, Texas-based Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders Alliance, the A.P. Bell Fish Company, of Cortez, Florida, and the Southern Offshore Fishing Association, a longliner group based in Madeira Beach, Florida.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance Release Statement on Red Snapper Increase

August 30, 2022 — Shareholders’ Alliance is making sure that their voice is heard following a red snapper quota increase announced by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.

The Council issued a news release last week about the final action on a framework action to modify red snapper catch limits. They said that they chose to decrease the overfishing limit and increase the acceptable biological catch, annual catch limits, and annual catch targets. The total annual catch limit is currently at 15,100,000 pounds and the newly recommended limit is 16,310,000 pounds. For the commercial annual catch limit, the current is 7,701,000 pounds and the newly recommended is 8,318,100 pounds.

“When the Gulf of Mexico Fishery management Council met in Corpus Christi last week, commercial and charter fishermen from Texas to Florida packed the meeting room and were unified around a single message – we are seeing warning signs that red snapper have started to decline,” said the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance. “Their ask was simple: please don’t increase the red snapper quota right now.”

According to the Council, the recommended catch limits are based on recommendations from the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee and new catch advice generated using updated estimates of absolute abundance of red snapper derived from the Great Red Snapper Count (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas) and by LGL Ecological Associates, Inc. (Louisiana). The Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance says that the council ignored “emotional testimony” from more than 40 small fishing business owners whose livelihoods and communities depend on healthy red snapper stocks.

Read the full article at Seafoodnews.com

Red grouper could be precedent for new Gulf catch reallocations

June 17, 2022 — Gulf of Mexico reef fish fishermen expect to face off in court against the National Marine Fisheries Service later this summer. They’re challenging the agency’s recent reallocation of some of their red grouper Individual Fishing Quota to the recreational sector.

Fishermen have more at stake than the cut in their grouper quota: NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council are already forging ahead with serial reallocations of other fisheries. The lawsuit may be their best, if not only, chance to stop them.

“We’re 2 and 0 against the NMFS in the courts,” said Eric Brazer, deputy director of the Galveston, Texas-based Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders Alliance. Other plaintiffs in the suit include A.P. Bell Fish Company, of Cortez, Florida, and the Southern Offshore Fishing Association, a longliner group based in Madeira Beach, Florida.

The courts sided with commercial fishermen in 2014 and 2017 when they challenged the council and NMFS over actions to extend the recreational red snapper season and reallocate more quota to the sector.

“The council took action that harmed the commercial fishermen and rewarded the recreational fishermen. We told them it was not legal, they didn’t believe us. They approved the document, we took them to court, and we won,” said Brazer.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Gulf of Mexico fishermen, supporters organize to challenge red grouper reallocation

March 11, 2022 — A move to reallocate Gulf of Mexico red grouper has marshaled a broad coalition of fishing, seafood and food service industry groups asking federal officials to reconsider.

In a region where fishery politics are dominated by the recreational sector, commercial fishing advocates aided by allies in the restaurant and seafood industries mounted a big pushback on the planned Amendment 53 to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council reef fish management plan.

But in a March 9 letter, NMFS regional administrator Andrew Strelcheck advised the council that NMFS intends to approve the move.

In June 2021 the Gulf of Mexico council voted to change the recreational and commercial allocations of red grouper, based on recent changes to NMFS surveys of recreational fishing effort that showed the recreational side caught more fish during allocation reference years than had been estimated before.

The net effect would be to reduce the commercial sector’s allocation from 76 percent to 59.3 percent, while and increasing the recreational share from 24 percent to 40.7 percent, according to a Seafood Harvesters of America comment letter to NMFS.

“Effectively, this will result in a reduction of nearly one-third (32 percent) of the commercial sector’s allocation,” the group wrote.

“There were some pretty impressive organizations that were against the amendment,” the Reef Fish Shareholders Alliance noted in a bulletin to its members. “These included the National Restaurant Association, the National Fisheries Institute, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, The (National) Food Industry Association, Seafood Harvesters of America, Southeastern Fisheries Association, Southern Offshore Fishing Association, Gulf Coast Seafood Alliance, National Association of Charterboat Operators, Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance, Fish for America USA, Southern Offshore Fishing Association, and the National Association of Charterboat Operators.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

Gulf of Mexico commercial fisherman upset at red grouper allocation

July 12, 2021 — Commercial fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico said they were shocked to see their share of the red grouper quota cut by 600,000 pounds.

A statement released Tuesday, 29, June by the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance said the reallocation to recreational fishermen means a loss of about USD 3 million (EUR 2.5 million), a significant loss for “fishing families.” They also fear it could lead to overfishing of the species.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Gulf Coast Seafood Alliance Urges Feds to Preserve Red Grouper Access for All Americans

July 8, 2021 — Last month, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council changed the allocation between commercial and recreational red grouper from a 76:24 split to 59.3:40.7 split on a slightly reduced total allowable catch.

Yesterday, the Gulf Coast Seafood Alliance (GCSA), called the move “… deeply disturb[ing] …”.  If approved, the Council’s action will deprive the citizens of the United States access to 600,000 pounds of red grouper this year currently being caught by commercial fishermen, and enjoyed by anyone who does not have the ability or opportunity to fish recreationally,” the group said in a statement. GCSA represents seafood harvesters, distributors, and restaurants across Gulf Coast.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Gulf Coast Seafood Alliance Calls on Federal Government to Preserve Red Grouper Access for All Americans

July 6, 2021 — The following was released by the Gulf Coast Seafood Alliance:

Members of the Gulf Coast Seafood Alliance, representing seafood harvesters, distributors, and the restaurants serving their products, are deeply disturbed by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s recent proposal to reallocate 20 percent of the commercial red grouper quota to the recreational sector.

If approved, the Council’s action will deprive the citizens of the United States access to 600,000 pounds of red grouper this year currently being caught by commercial fishermen, and enjoyed by anyone who does not have the ability or opportunity to fish recreationally. It will also deprive restaurants of revenue from those landings, and will block both local residents and tourists from accessing our Gulf seafood resources.

This decision demonstrates the success of an ongoing effort by the well-funded recreational fishing lobby to take a disproportionate share of the quota for their personal enjoyment, and for the profit of companies supplying fishing gear and recreational vessels.

Of America’s approximately 330 million citizens, only 38 million are holders of recreational fishing licenses, tags, permits and stamps, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The 11 percent of Americans who enjoy fishing recreationally, who can afford the gear, boats and charters needed to participate in this sport, certainly have the right to access this resource, but they should not have the right to monopolize the resource.

The other 89 percent of Americans nationwide who do not hold fishing licenses, tags, permits or stamps also have the right to access domestic seafood resources, which they currently do through the labor of our commercial fishermen and distributors, who supply wild-caught seafood to their markets and favorite restaurants.

Commercial fishing is just as important to the Gulf tourist economy as recreational fishing, even though the benefits are often overlooked. If commercial fishermen can’t catch enough local species like grouper, the impacts will ripple through the critically important restaurant industry. Less grouper to catch means less grouper for restaurants, and that will inevitably lead to higher prices at the table.

Red grouper is one of the best selling local seafood items at Gulf restaurants. Without ready access to it at prices customers feel comfortable paying, some restaurants may have to consider supplementing their wild-caught products with farm-raised fish from overseas. Fresh, local seafood is one of the reasons people come from across the country to the Gulf; a restaurant industry without it would be far less appealing.

Appointees to the Fisheries Council selected by former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross from the slates of nominees submitted by regional governors tipped the composition of the Council in the direction of recreational fishing interests who derive their pleasure from our fisheries over those who derive their livelihoods from our fisheries.

As the former Governor of Rhode Island, our current Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, unquestionably understands the need to balance the rights of recreational fishing participants with the rights of citizen consumers. Like our Gulf Coast, the Rhode Island economy has for centuries supported fishing interests – both commercial and recreational – as well as a robust tourist trade that sustains restaurants, markets and hotels filled with guests who enjoy local seafood. We must continue developing methods to share our nation’s coastal resources and not exclude one sector in favor of another.

About the Gulf Coast Seafood Alliance
The Gulf Coast Seafood Alliance (GCSA) unites fishermen, seafood dealers, and restaurants to advocate for the fair distribution of fish across the Gulf Coast. Americans who live in or visit the Gulf should have fish to catch at sea and fish to buy onshore. Our members drive a fishing economy that provides jobs, promotes tourism, and delivers fresh seafood across the Gulf Coast. View our membership here.

Recreational quota grab sets dangerous precedent, gulf fleet warns

July 1, 2021 — On Friday, June 25, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council took final action on Amendment 53: Red Grouper Recalibration and Reallocation.

If implemented by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, this amendment would reduce the commercial quota share from 76 percent to 59.3 percent, or about 600,000 pounds, starting in 2022.

“Taking 600,000 pounds of red grouper quota not only directly hurts hard-working American fishermen who rely on grouper for the businesses, but it also takes fish away from the American consumer who, through the covid-19 pandemic, proved that they are looking for more seafood and more domestic seafood,” said Bubba Cochrane, president of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance, an industry trade group based in Galveston, Texas.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council Offers New App for Federal Commercial Regulations

June 24, 2021 — Local commercial fishermen and others may access a regularly updated list of federal fishing regulations through a new app.

The South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council, an interstate fishery management agency with jurisdiction in the federal waters off of the south Atlantic states, including North Carolina, announced May 25 federal commercial fishing regulations in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic are now available on the free Fish Rules Commercial mobile app.

Read the full story at Seafood News