Saving Seafood

Frozen fish: NMFS approves Sector IX management plan

April 25, 2018 — Fishing boats in New England’s Sector IX groundfish fleet that were in danger of being barred from leasing groundfish quota moved into Sector VII in late March in order to recoup losses from a post-Carlos Rafael trip shutdown of the New Bedford groundfish industry. But the process of approving new operating plans will keep that quota frozen until midsummer at the latest.

NMFS reported that Sector IX was shut down completely in order to determine how much of the sector’s quota was illegaly used to cover Rafael’s quota evasion scheme.

Under a new plan operating plan put forward by the sector, which was narrowly recommended for approval by the New England Fishery Management Council with a 7-5-5 vote, NMFS will treat illegal catch in each fishing year as if it was known immediately after the end of the season, eliminating any carryover of unused quota into the next fishing season if there was any illegal fishing.

The council recommended that that NMFS authorize the “lease only” operations plan “with the condition that all overages attributable to the known misreporting are paid in full.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

Trump Drilling Plans Raise Concerns Over Discarded Poison Gas, Nuke Waste

April 24, 2018 — The Trump administration’s proposal to open large tracts of seabed off the South Carolina coast to oil and gas exploration has drawn a sharp rebuke from a statewide business advocacy group concerned about the thousands of unexploded bombs, poison gas and radioactive waste that were dumped in the planned exploration zone.

In a written a statement submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Frank Knapp of the South Carolina Business Chamber of Commerce, said oil and gas exploration off the coast would increase the risk of disturbing long-dormant hazards and contaminating marine life harvested by fisherman up and down the east coast.

“We have a tremendous stake in our coastal economy and environmental health of ocean and coast,” said Knapp, the chamber’s chief executive officer.

Read the full story at the Courthouse News Service

 

NOAA finalizes plan for record scallop year

April 20, 2018 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has now finalized its plan to allow the biggest Atlantic scallop harvest in 14 years in the 2018-2019 fishing year.

In a final rule appearing in Thursday’s Federal Register, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published the last few technical elements it needed to implement Framework Adjustment 29, advancing a plan that would boost the scallop harvest by 26%  — to as much as 60 million pounds of scallops from the 47.5 million lbs caught in 2017. The 2018-2019 season began on April 19 and runs until March 21, 2019. Earlier elements of the plan were laid out on March 26, 2018.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

NOAA Gives Final Approval to 2018 Scallop Plan Which Will Result in 60 Million Lb. Harvest

April 19, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — NOAA Fisheries and NMFS have approved measures included in Framework Adjustment 29 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management plan. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on Thursday and sets an annual catch limit of 60 million pounds of scallops for FY 2018. In comparison, the 2017 fishing year was set at 51.7 million pounds.

Framework 29 sets management measures for the Atlantic Sea Scallop fishery for the remainder of the 2018 fishing year, which runs from April 19, 2018 to March 21, 2019. Northern Gulf of Maine management measures in Framework 29 were previously published on March 26, 2018 and were set to prevent overfishing and improve the yield-per-recruit and overall management of the Atlantic sea scallop resource in the Northern Gulf of Maine. Those measures went into effect on April 1, 2018. The Framework Adjustment 29 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan is in addition to the March 26 final rule.

Framework 29 also “allocates effort into four rotational access areas (Mid-Atlantic, Nantucket Lightship-West, Nantucket Lightship-South, and Closed Area 1).” Both Closed Area 1 and Nantucket Lightship-West contain new area available to scallop fishing through the Omnibus Habitat Amendment. In addition, Framework 29 adjusts the scallop fleet’s accountability measures for Southern New England/ Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder and Georges Bank yellowtail flounder.

You can find the final rule in the Federal Register here.

This story was originally published by Seafood News, it is republished here with permission.

 

New England Council to Take up Issue of New Bedford Sectors IX and VII on Wednesday

April 17, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The New England Fisheries Management Council will take up the issue of the operations plans submitted by sector IX and sector VII, which represent the majority of groundfish vessels in New Bedford.

Many of these vessels, which were formerly members of Sector IX, have been prohibited from fishing until Sector IX came up with an acceptable mechanism to account for the illegal fishing and overages done by vessels belonging to Carlos Rafael that were in the sector.

The sector was strongly criticized by NMFS for failure to have an adequate plan to account for overharvests, to do proper record keeping, and to then take necessary steps to payback fish that was illegally harvested.

Instead of coming to an agreement, on the last day for filing sector membership, the vessels in Sector IX decamped en masse to Sector VII, which otherwise would have been shut down.

Sector VII vessels that have come from Sector IX still won’t be able to fish until a plan to pay back illegal harvests has been approved, but the vessels hope that by moving to an operating sector they may be able to lease their quotas.

Sector VII has written the council to say that for many years they have shared a sector manager with sector VIII, another sector in New Bedford. They said that with reduced catches, it was no longer viable for them to operate as a stand alone sector.

Sector manager Linda McCann wrote that they have one vessel groundfishing, and six vessels fishing for monkfish, and this is too small an amount of activity to sustain a separate sector.

She says the plan to merge with sector 8 was developed months ago, and communicated to NMFS.

She says “We didn’t realize we needed to justify to the fishing world why these internal decisions were made, or how we handle our internal business affairs.  However, we feel compelled to do so in sight of recent politics, attacks and mischaracterizations of facts. Let us be clear, the decisions made to merge sector 7 membership into sector 8 has nothing to do with the sector 9 situation of the Carlos Rafael situation. “

Another letter, from the Northeast Seafood Coalition urges the council to set clear goals.

“As many Council members are painfully aware, the 28 offenses to which Mr. Rafael pled guilty and is now incarcerated for have created enormous turmoil throughout the fishery and the region. Part of the turmoil concerns the broader fishery management implications of starting a new fishing year with such a significant portion of the fishery’s sub-ACL not being made available to the fishery.

NSC recommends that the Council provide the Agency with their primary objectives and request the Agency use their administrative authority to consult with the respective sector boards to achieve the stated objectives.

NSC recommends the following objectives:

  • ACE overages be identified and paid back to the system. The timing and result of the resolution shall be consistent with a result that would have been possible had the 2018 NEF Sector 9 roster been the same as 2017.
  • Conditional upon resolution of the NEF Sector IX overages, ensure the groundfish sector system has access to the ACE associated with permits that are enrolled in NEF Sector VII.
  • Work with the NEF Sector VII to ensure the conditions they’ve listed in their March 26, 2018 letter are met and upheld.”

This story was originally published by Seafood News, it is republished here with permission.

 

Request for Comments: Limited Opening of Recreational and Commercial Red Snapper Fishery in South Atlantic Federal Waters

April 17, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:   

KEY MESSAGE:

NOAA Fisheries requests comments on Amendment 43 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Amendment 43). The proposed actions would specify recreational and commercial annual catch limits for red snapper beginning in 2018.

  • Red snapper recreational and commercial seasons would open in South Atlantic federal waters for limited harvest in 2018.
  • The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved Amendment 43 after recent scientific information indicated an increase in the red snapper population since 2014.
  • NOAA Fisheries determined the proposed limited harvest in 2018 is neither expected to result in overfishing, nor prevent continued rebuilding of the population.

*Comment period begins on April 16, 2018, and comments are due by June 15, 2018*

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED CHANGES FOR RED SNAPPER:

  • The total annual catch limit would be 42,510 fish.
  • The recreational annual catch limit would be 29,656 fish.
  • The recreational bag limit would be 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).
  • The commercial annual catch limit would be 124,815 pounds whole weight.
  • The commercial trip limit would be 75 pounds gutted weight.
  • There would be no minimum size limit for the recreational or commercial sectors.
  • The opening and closing of the recreational sector would be specified before the recreational season begins and would be weekends only (Friday, Saturday, Sunday).
  • The commercial sector would close when the commercial annual catch limit is projected to be met.
  • Amendment 43 specifies that the commercial sector would open the 2nd Monday in July and the recreational sector would open the 2nd Friday in July.  If the fishing seasons do not open exactly on these dates, they would open as close to these dates as possible.
  • NOAA Fisheries will announce the opening dates, if the amendment is approved, in a future Fishery Bulletin.

PLEASE NOTE: The timing of the 2018 season is contingent on when the final rule for Amendment 43 is implemented, if approved.

HOW TO COMMENT ON THE NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY:

The comment period begins on April 16, 2018, and comments are due by June 15, 2018. You may submit comments by electronic submission or by postal mail.

Comments sent by any other method (such as e-mail), to any other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered by NOAA Fisheries.

Electronic Submissions:Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.

  1. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017-0148.
  2. Click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields.
  3. Enter or attach your comments.

Mail:Submit written comments to Frank Helies, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.

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)

Why is limited harvest of South Atlantic red snapper being proposed to begin in 2018?

How would the proposed limited harvest in 2018 affect the overfishing and overfished status of red snapper?

  • NOAA Fisheries has determined that the proposed limited harvest beginning in 2018 is not expected to result in overfishing and would not prevent the continued rebuilding of the red snapper population.

What would the regulations be for red snapper during these proposed seasons?

  • The recreational bag limit would be one red snapper per person per day.
  • The commercial trip limit would be 75 pounds gutted weight.
  • There would be no minimum size limit for either the recreational or commercial sector.

What is the history of South Atlantic red snapper harvest and prohibitions since 2010?   

  • 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 (See  2008 population assessment – 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.
  • NOAA Fisheries temporarily allowed limited harvest of red snapper beginning November 2, 2017, by a temporary rule through emergency action. The temporary rule was effective through December 31, 2017.

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 other 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.
  • Recent results from fishery-independent studies suggest that the relative abundance of red snapper has increased since 2014.

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 proposed limited fishing season would be 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?

 

West Coast Salmon Seasons Set After Week of Tensions, Struggles

April 13, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — This week the Pacific Fishery Management Council adopted ocean salmon season recommendations that provide recreational and commercial opportunities for most of the Pacific coast, and achieve conservation goals for the numerous individual salmon stocks on the West Coast.

“It has been another challenging year for the Council, its advisers, fishery stakeholders and the public as we strive to balance fishing opportunities with the conservation needs we are facing on Chinook and coho salmon stocks, both north and south of Cape Falcon,” Council Executive Director Chuck Tracy said in a press release. “The Council has recommended ocean salmon seasons on the West Coast this year that provide important protections for stocks of concern, including Lower Columbia River natural fall Chinook, Puget Sound Chinook, Washington coastal coho, and Sacramento River fall Chinook.”

Fisheries in Washington and northern Oregon, referred to as “North of Falcon” due to Cape Falcon being located near Nehalem in northern Oregon, depend largely on Columbia River Chinook and coho stocks. Overall, Columbia River fall Chinook forecasts are considered low to moderate compared to the recent 10-year average. Hatchery coho stocks originating from the Columbia River together with natural stocks originating from the Queets River and Grays Harbor are expected to return at low levels resulting in very low harvest quotas, as was the case in 2017.

Washington state and tribal co-managers struggled during the week’s Council meeting to find solutions. Finally, on Tuesday, they agreed to fishing seasons that meets conservation goals for wild fish while providing fishing opportunities on healthy salmon runs.

A variety of unfavorable environmental conditions, including severe flooding in rivers and warm ocean water, have reduced the number of salmon returning to Washington’s rivers in recent years, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife fish program leader Ron Warren said. In addition, the loss of quality rearing and spawning habitat continues to take a toll on salmon populations throughout the region, where some stocks are listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act, he said.

The overall non-Indian total allowable catch for the area is 55,000 Chinook coastwide, compared to 90,000 last year, and 47,600 marked hatchery coho, the same as last year. Fisheries are designed to provide harvest opportunity on healthy Chinook returns primarily destined for the Columbia River, while avoiding coho stocks of concern.

Non-Indian ocean commercial fisheries north of Cape Falcon include traditional, but reduced, Chinook seasons in the spring (May-June) and summer season (July through mid-September). Non-Indian ocean commercial fisheries in this area will have access to a total of 27,500 Chinook, compared to 45,000 Chinook last year, and a marked coho quota of 5,600, the same as last year.

Tribal ocean fisheries north of Cape Falcon are similar in structure to past years, with quotas that include 40,000 Chinook and 12,500 coho, the same as last year.

“It’s critical that we ensure fisheries are consistent with ongoing efforts to protect and rebuild wild salmon stocks,” Warren said in a press release. “Unfortunately, the loss of salmon habitat continues to outpace these recovery efforts.”

In California and Oregon south of Cape Falcon, will be limited, as expected, due to Klamath River and Sacramento fall Chinook and also to Oregon Coast natural coho — but some opportunities in Oregon are better this year than last.

“While this won’t be a banner year for ocean salmon fishing, overall it’s an improvement from 2017. This is particularly true for communities on the Southern Oregon coast, which were hit hard by 2017’s salmon closures,” Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Deputy Fish Division Administrator Chris Kern said in a press release.

Commercial fisheries from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mt. in Oregon will open on May 4 and will and continue through Aug. 29 with intermittent closures. This area will also be open continuously in September and October, with weekly limits and a depth restriction in October.

Fisheries from Humbug Mt., Oregon, to Humboldt South Jetty, California, will be open intermittently from May through August. Monthly quotas will be in place for the Oregon portion of the Klamath Management Zone from June through August. In 2017, all Oregon commercial salmon trolling was closed south of Florence.

“I want to thank the many advisors, tribal members, agency staff, and members of the general public, who all worked hard to ensure that conservation goals for salmon stocks are met while providing fishing opportunities for communities up and down the West Coast,” Kern said.

In the California portion of the KMZ, monthly Chinook quotas will be in place from May through August. The quotas all feature landing and possession limits, and the Californian portion of this area will be open five days a week.

Between Horse Mountain and Pigeon Point, the Fort Bragg and San Francisco areas, the area will be open for a week in late July, most of August and all of September. From Pigeon Point to the Mexico border, the Chinook season will be open during the first week in May and the last two weeks of June. There will also be a season from Point Reyes to Point San Pedro (a subset of the San Francisco area), consisting of two five-day periods in October.

After the last week of tensions, Council members, state advisers and tribes did leave the meeting with a bit of positive news: a renewed commitment by Indian and non-Indian fishermen to work together for the future of salmon and salmon fishing, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission chair Lorraine Loomis said.

“No fisherman wants to catch the last salmon. We know that the ongoing loss of habitat, a population explosion of hungry seals and sea lions and the needs of endangered southern resident killer whales are the real challenges facing us today. We must work together if we are going to restore salmon to sustainable levels,” she said.

Council chairman Phil Anderson noted fishermen bear the burden of conserving these fish populations while their demise is largely out of the seafood industry’s control.

“This year’s package includes some very restrictive seasons in both commercial and recreational fisheries along the entire coast,” Anderson said. “Low abundances of Chinook and coho are in part due to the poor ocean conditions the adult fish faced as juveniles when they entered the ocean, and poor in-river habitat and water conditions.”

These recommendations will be forwarded to the National Marine Fisheries Service for approval by May 1, 2018.

This story originally appeared on Seafood News, it is republished with permission.   

 

NEFMC Meeting: April 17-19, 2018, Mystic, CT, Listen Live, View Documents

April 11, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will hold a three-day meeting from Tuesday, April 17 through Thursday, April 19, 2018. The public is invited to listen-in via webinar or telephone. Here are the details.

MEETING LOCATION:  Hilton Hotel, 20 Coogan Boulevard, Mystic, CT 06355; Hilton Hotel Mystic.

START TIME:  The webinar will be activated at 8:00 a.m. each day. However, please note that the meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday and 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. The webinar will end at approximately 6:00 p.m. EST or shortly after the Council adjourns each day.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live. There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (914) 614-3221. The access code is 167-206-035. Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The agenda and all meeting materials are available on the Council’s website at April 17-19, 2018 NEFMC Mystic.

SPECIAL EVENT:  The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) Office of Renewable Energy Programs will be holding an open house on Tuesday and Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in conjunction with the Council meeting. The event will be held in the Clipper Room near the Council’s main meeting room. BOEM has scheduled this open house to: (a) gather feedback on recently proposed commercial offshore renewable energy projects; (b) enhance communications between leaseholders and the fishing community; (c) answer questions about future leasing; and (d) solicit public comment on recently published public notices, including the Vineyard Wind project, which currently is under a 30-day public comment period with five public hearings scheduled from April 16 through April 19. Four will be held in Massachusetts (New Bedford, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and Hyannis) and one in Kingston, RI. Learn more at Vineyard Wind notice and hearing schedule and visit open house.

GROUNDFISH NOTE:  On Wednesday morning, the Council will receive an overview of Northeast Fishery Sector IX’s steps to address its shortcomings, as well as a summary of Sector IX’s proposed operations plan as submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office. Because of recent information received from the industry, NMFS’s consultation with the Council on Sector IX likely will include: (a) discussion of the proposed Sector VII operations plan amendments that relate to Sector IX; (b) other sectors as they relate to Sector IX; and (c) effects on the sector system generally. The Council may provide recommendations to NMFS on any topics discussed.

 THREE MEETING OUTLOOK:  A copy of the New England Council’s Three Meeting Outlook is available HERE.

 

PFMC: West Coast Salmon Season Dates Set

April 11, 2018 — PORTLAND, Ore. — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

This week the Pacific Fishery Management Council adopted ocean salmon season recommendations that provide recreational and commercial opportunities for most of the Pacific coast, and achieve conservation goals for the numerous individual salmon stocks on the West Coast.

The recommendation will be forwarded to the National Marine Fisheries Service for approval by May 1, 2018.

“It has been another challenging year for the Council, its advisors, fishery stakeholders and the public as we strive to balance fishing opportunities with the conservation needs we are facing on Chinook and coho salmon stocks, both north and south of Cape Falcon,” said Council Executive Director Chuck Tracy. “The Council has recommended ocean salmon seasons on the west coast this year that provide important protections for stocks of concern, including Lower Columbia River natural fall Chinook, Puget Sound Chinook, Washington coastal coho, and Sacramento River fall Chinook.”

“This year’s package includes some very restrictive seasons in both commercial and recreational fisheries along the entire coast. Low abundances of Chinook and coho are in part due to the poor ocean conditions the adult fish faced as juveniles when they entered the ocean, and poor in-river habitat and water conditions. Tribal, commercial, and recreational fishers continue to bear a large part of the burden of conservation,” said Council Chair Phil Anderson.

Washington and Northern Oregon (North of Cape Falcon)

Fisheries north of Cape Falcon (near Nehalem in northern Oregon) depend largely on Columbia River Chinook and coho stocks. Overall, Columbia River fall Chinook forecasts are considered low to moderate compared to the recent 10-year average.  Hatchery coho stocks originating from the Columbia River together with natural stocks originating from the Queets River and Grays Harbor are expected to return at low levels resulting in very low harvest quotas as was the case in 2017.

North of Cape Falcon, the overall non-Indian total allowable catch is 55,000 Chinook coastwide (compared to 90,000 last year) and 47,600 marked hatchery coho (the same as last year). Fisheries are designed to provide harvest opportunity on healthy Chinook returns primarily destined for the Columbia River, while avoiding coho stocks of concern.

Commercial Fisheries

Non-Indian ocean commercial fisheries north of Cape Falcon include traditional, but reduced, Chinook seasons in the spring (May-June) and summer season (July through mid-September). Non-Indian ocean commercial fisheries in this area will have access to a total of 27,500 Chinook (compared to 45,000 Chinook last year), and a marked coho quota of 5,600 (the same as last year).

Tribal ocean fisheries north of Cape Falcon are similar in structure to past years, with quotas that include 40,000 Chinook and 12,500 coho (the same as last year).

View the release in its entirety here.

 

Alabama Snapper Season of 47 Days Approved By NOAA

April 10, 2018 — The National Marine Fisheries Service [NMFS] has officially accepted Alabama’s plan to manage its own seasons for recreational red snapper fishing — paving the way for 47-day seasons in the next two years.

As Lagniappe has previously reported, the plan manages the season lengths in state and federal waters off the Alabama coast is part of a two-year pilot program approved by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council in February.

For the first time in years, Gulf states will be able to manage recreational snapper fishing off their respective coasts through individual Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs) submitted to NMFS.

The decision comes after years of shorter and shorter snapper seasons that frustrated anglers and commercial fisherman alike until a consortium of Gulf leaders negotiated a compromise through U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that extended the 2017 season.

Gov. Kay Ivey announced Friday that Alabama’s plan, which will create a 47-day season, will be in place for the next two years. In 2018, it will run from June 1 to September 2 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and the entire week on the Fourth of July. It would run concurrently in state waters and in federal waters, which begin nine miles from the coast.

“I am very pleased that the U.S. Department of Commerce, through the National Marine Fisheries Service, has granted Alabama an Exempted Fishing Permit for the next two red snapper seasons,” Ivey said of the plan’s approval. “Following the directives from President Trump to cut down on federal regulations, this decision empowers Alabama to manage our resources instead of bureaucrats in Washington.”

Ivey also noted the EFP program was made possible by language Sen. Richard Shelby added to the FY2017 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill. It directed the NMFS to develop the pilot program to allow states more control over reef fish management activities.

In a statement, Ivey said Alabama’s red snapper fishery is a big part of “the coastal culture and economy of” of the state and thanked Shelby and Rep. Bradley Byrne for their congressional efforts to give Alabama more autonomy in managing its coastal resources.

She also made a special note of the efforts Alabama is also indebted to Conservation and Natural Resources Commissioner Chris Blankenship made to push for alternatives to federal snapper seasons that had become shorter and shorter in recent years.

“The red snapper management granted by the EFP will allow Alabama to use the information from the Alabama Snapper Check Program, as well as the terabytes of fisheries data we have collected on the red snapper population in the Alabama Artificial Reef Zones, to show we can sustainably manage this fishery,” Blankenship said “I would like to thank Marine Resources Division Director Scott Bannon and Chief Biologist Kevin Anson for shepherding the permit request through the regulatory process.”

The federal charter season for red snapper is not included in Alabama’s new permit and is expected to be announced by NMFS sometime in April, though it is expected to be longer than the 2017 federal charter season, which stretched 49 days.

Ivey’s office said data collected through the Alabama Snapper Check Program the past four years was critical in securing the additional red snapper fishing days, and reminded fishermen they are still required to report their red snapper harvests through the program.

Only one report is required per vessel trip, and anglers can provide details via a smartphone app available under “Outdoor Alabama” in the iTunes or Google Play app stores; online at www.outdooralabama.com; or by paper forms available at select coastal public boat launches.

Read the full story at the Lagniappe Weekly