Saving Seafood

NOAA to (briefly) reopen recreational red snapper fishing next month

July 27, 2018 –Recreational and commercial fishers will be able to catch red snapper off the South Carolina coast in limited amounts next month.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will allow South Atlantic anglers to keep their catch during the second and third weekends of August. The agency’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published the new regulation in the Federal Register on Thursday. Commercial fishing will be allowed starting Thursday.

Harvesting red snapper from the South Atlantic was prohibited in 2010 as NOAA worked to restore a population it said was depleted by overfishing. The agency allowed limited catches from 2012-2014, but halted the harvest as the resulting catch exceeded what it considered “acceptable.”

“It’s obvious from looking out in the field, that the stock is rebuilding,” South Carolina Office of Fisheries Management director Mel Bell said. “The stock’s rebuilding, but it’s just taking time.”

Read the full story at the South Carolina Radio Network

Final Rule Revises Annual Catch Limits for South Atlantic Red Grouper

July 27, 2018 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

KEY MESSAGE:

NOAA Fisheries announces a final rule for red grouper in the South Atlantic. This rule will reduce the annual catch limits (ACLs) for South Atlantic red grouper in response to the results of the latest population assessment. The assessment determined that red grouper in the South Atlantic is undergoing overfishing and is overfished.
WHEN RULE WILL TAKE EFFECT:
  • The rule will take effect on August 27, 2018.
WHAT THIS MEANS:
  • The final rule will reduce the total and sector annual catch limits for red grouper.
  • New annual catch limits (in pounds whole weight) are as follows:
Total ACL
Commercial ACL
Recreational ACL
  2018
  139,000  61,160  77,840
 2019
  150,000  66,000  84,000
2020 until modified
  162,000  71,280  90,720
FORMAL FEDERAL REGISTER NAME/NUMBER: 83 FR 35435, published July 26, 2018

Florida researchers team to map entire Florida coast, wildlife habitats

July 24, 2018 — The USF College of Marine Science is teaming up with the Florida Institute of Oceanography to map the entire Florida coast, as well as gather data on fish spawning areas in the state’s coastal waters.

  • Researchers developing maps of essential sealife habitats
  • Florida Coastal Mapping Program capturing high resolution maps of coast
  • Less than 20 percent of Florida’s coastal waters have been mapped

Researchers from the two schools are pushing forward a number of projects while working onboard the Weatherbird II research vessel in the Gulf of Mexico.

One of those projects involved gathering HD video of the sea bottom to count the number of Red Snapper in the gulf utilizing an instrument called a “C-BASS.” The Weatherbird tows the C-BASS about six feet off the bottom of the ocean floor and utilizes lights and cameras to capture all the action.

It’s all part of the C-SCAMP project, which is also developing high-resolution multibeam maps to identify essential habitats on the West Florida shelf.

“It’s really important not only for just finding out what’s there, but also for the management of our natural resources,” said USF Professor Steve Murawski. “So, we’re trying to close this huge gap in terms of our understanding of what’s on the sea floor and how valuable it is.”

Read the full story at Spectrum News 13

Looking for local red snapper? South Carolina limited fishing season will open soon

July 24, 2018 — A limited season for red snapper will open July 26 for recreational and commercial fishing in the South Atlantic Region, which includes South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida and Georgia.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council announced Monday in a release that scientific research showed an increase in the red snapper population since 2010. It states NOAA Fisheries determined limited harvest beginning in 2018 is not expected to result in overfishing, nor prevent a continued rebuilding of the population.

Recreational fishing will open for harvest on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. It will run from July 26 to August 20.

Read the full story at The Island Packet

NOAA Fisheries Announces Limited Opening of Recreational and Commercial Red Snapper Seasons in South Atlantic Federal Waters

July 24, 2018 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

KEY MESSAGE:

NOAA Fisheries announces a final rule for Amendment 43 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Amendment 43). This rule specifies recreational and commercial annual catch limits for red snapper beginning in 2018.

  • Red snapper recreational and commercial seasons will open in South Atlantic federal waters for limited harvest beginning in 2018.
  • The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved Amendment 43 after recent scientific information indicated an increase in the red snapper population since 2010.
  • NOAA Fisheries determined limited harvest beginning in 2018 is neither expected to result in overfishing, nor prevent continued rebuilding of the population.

WHEN RULE WILL TAKE EFFECT:

  • The rule will take effect on July 26, 2018.
  • The recreational sector will open for harvest on weekends only (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) on the following days:
  • August 10, 11, and 12, 2018 – The recreational season opens at 12:01 a.m., local time, on August 10, 2018, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on August 13, 2018.
  • August 17, 18, and 19, 2018 – The recreational season opens again at 12:01 a.m., local time, on August 17, 2018, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on August 20, 2018.
  • The commercial sector will open for harvest upon publication of the final rule at 12:01 a.m., local time, on July 26, 2018, and will close at 11:59 p.m., local time, on December 31, 2018, 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, 2018.

WHAT THIS MEANS:

  • The total annual catch limit will be 42,510 fish.
  • The recreational annual catch limit will be 29,656 fish.
    • The recreational bag limit will 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 will be 124,815 pounds whole weight (12,854 fish).
    • The commercial trip limit will be 75 pounds gutted weight.
  • There will be no minimum or maximum size limit for the recreational or commercial sectors.
  • NOAA Fisheries expects that beginning in 2019, commercial and recreational harvest will begin in July, as per Amendment 43 and the final rule.

Gulf Coast lawmakers push bill on red snapper quotas

July 23, 2018 — After years of feuding with the federal government over red snapper fishing quotas, Gulf Coast lawmakers are pushing a bill to seize decision-making powers from the federal government and give them to state regulators.

Lawmakers say states know the resources best and better understand the impact of their decisions, but environmentalists worry the reforms will bypass science-based conservation methods and subject quota decisions to the whims of local politics, ultimately threatening fish stocks that fuel local economies and provide food to millions of Americans.

“This a huge economic thing as well as a question of freedom of the American people to fish in their own waters,” said Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-AL.

Byrne says he and other critics are frustrated with federal regulators, who the critics say rely on faulty science and don’t fully understand the local impact of their decisions.

Recreational fishing is a $63 billion a year industry in the United States, nearly a half million jobs. Byrne says that’s why it’s critically important to change the way conservation decisions are made.

“We’re taking control away from the federal government and giving it to state authorities who are closer to it and who we think make the better decisions,” Byrne said.

Read the full story at KXAN

Feds could pull back on South Carolina offshore fishing rules

July 23, 2018 — Offshore fish stocks could soon be governed by better science or ravaged by loopholes in new rules, depending on which side you ask.

A contested bill to reorganize offshore fishing regulation is now in the U.S. Senate after passing the House of Representatives in a split vote. It pushes alternatives to the daily catch and season limits to restore game species.

Off South Carolina’s coast, it could dramatically change how much stock is caught of popular game and commercial fish such as snapper and grouper.

For example, under the proposed rules, any fishing restriction to rebuild the stock would be based partly on how quickly the fish reproduce, not on the standard 10-year timetable, and would have to take consumer concerns into account.

Fishing for nearly every sought-after offshore species is under a series of timetable restrictions because research indicates overfishing. Anglers have long argued their catches suggest more fish of nearly every regulated species are out there than current surveying suggests.

Federal regulators have conceded that and are working to improve the counts.

The proposed rules, a rework of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, would give anglers and regulators more line.

Read the full story at The Post and Courier

Commercial Closure for Snowy Grouper in South Atlantic Federal Waters on July 24, 2018

July 20, 2018 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

WHAT/WHEN:

  • The commercial harvest of snowy grouper in federal waters of the South Atlantic will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on July 24, 2018. During the commercial closure, all sale or purchase of snowy grouper is prohibited, and harvest or possession of snowy grouper in or from federal waters is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits while the recreational sector is open.

WHY THIS CLOSURE IS HAPPENING:

  • The 2018 commercial catch limit is 144,315 pounds gutted weight, or 170,291 pounds whole weight. Commercial landings are projected to reach the commercial catch limit. According to the accountability measure, harvest should close to prevent the catch limit from being exceeded.

AFTER THE CLOSURE:

  • The closure applies in both state and federal waters for vessels that have a federal commercial permit for South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper.
  • The prohibition on sale or purchase during a closure for snowy grouper does not apply to fish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m. on July 24, 2018, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.
  • The 2019 commercial fishing season for snowy grouper in the South Atlantic will open on January 1, 2019, with a catch limit of 153,935 pounds gutted weight, or 181,644 pounds whole weight.

This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations. Full regulations can be found in the Federal Register at https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=383bc195ccbeab4fd6bec1c24905df34&node=sp50.12.622.i&rgn=div6#se50.12.622_1193

Map Of Gulf Of Mexico Fisheries Prepares For Future Disasters

July 10, 2018 — A study seven years in the making by University of South Florida researchers has created a map of how many species live in the Gulf of Mexico. This will give experts an idea of how much damage would take place from a future oil spill.

The study took so long to complete because 12 separate expeditions were needed to cover the entire Gulf, including the waters off Mexico and Cuba. USF biologist and professor Steve Murawski said this information will be priceless.

“One of the criticisms of the Deepwater Horizon episode is before the spill, we had no environmental baseline for many of the things that are of interest and importance, and understanding the environment,” he said, “and now we have that baseline.”

Surprisingly, Murawski said researchers didn’t see a significant dropoff in the numbers of fish around the oil spill site, except for red snapper and hake.

Read the full story at WLRN

Reminder: Review Continues for Red Snapper Opening in the South Atlantic for 2018

July 10, 2018 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Fishermen are reminded that harvest and/or possession of red snapper is prohibited in federal waters off the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and the east coast of Florida. The fishery remains closed as NOAA Fisheries and the Secretary of Commerce continue final review of Amendment 43 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan for the South Atlantic Region. A Fishery Bulletin regarding approval is expected from NOAA Fisheries and the Secretary within the next two weeks. Given the timeline for the review process, it is likely that, IF the amendment is approved, a red snapper season would begin in August 2018.

The amendment specifies a total annual catch limit (ACL) for red snapper of 42,510 fish, with 29,656 fish allocated to the recreational sector. The bag limit for red snapper would be 1 fish per person/day with no minimum size limit. The recreational season would be weekends only (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). The number of weekend openings for the recreational fishery would be determined by NOAA Fisheries and announced in advance. The commercial fishery would open with a 75-pound trip limit (gutted weight) with no minimum size limit, and close when the commercial ACL is met or projected to be met. The Council approved Amendment 43 for Secretarial review in September 2017. A benchmark stock assessment for red snapper will be conducted in 2020.

Sign up for E-News from the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s website at www.safmc.net and receive Fishery Bulletins from NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Regional Office at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/index.html.