Saving Seafood

ALABAMA: Gov. Ivey asks Trump to extend Red Snapper season

June 5, 2017 — Gov. Kay Ivey penned a letter to President Donald Trump asking for an extension to the 2017 federal Red Snapper season.

“Red Snapper fishing is vital to Alabamians as it is a major source of recreational enjoyment and provides great economic impact,” Ivey said in a news release Friday.

One reason for the short season by the National Marine Fisheries Service is it is believed that the species is struggling for survival, but the governor in her letter to the president outlines that’s not the case.

“The population of this valuable species is thriving,” Ivey wrote. “The average size fish caught last year was nine pounds compared to three pounds less than a decade ago.”

Ivey’s office is arguing that the federal data is inaccurate, and doesn’t reflect what the state data indicates.

“The stock assessment for this species is several years behind and does not adequately represent the current population,” Ivey said.

Ivey asked for the season to be extended to include every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in June, as well as July 3 and July 4.

“I hope the President will do the right thing and take swift action on my request and right this wrong,” Ivey stated.

Read the full story at NBC WSFA 12 

LOUISIANA: Red Snapper proposals stir controversy

June 5, 2017 — Earlier this week, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries proposed a lottery for 150 anglers who would be granted an unlimited red snapper season of two fish per day. The proposal has not gone over well among the fishing community, including the Coastal Conservation Agency.

“Unfortunately the department of wildlife and fisheries and governors office put out a proposal … that is basically the precursor to catch shares and fish tags,” Rad Trasher, director of development for CCA Louisiana, said. “They don’t work in the recreational segment, and we have seen that time after time. You shouldn’t have to create winners and losers, and that’s what this program does. It is spearheaded by a bunch of people who are not fisherman, that are not from the state of Louisiana and it is hurting not only the fisherman but the marina owners, the sporting goods stores, and everybody in between.”

Many Louisianians believe fish surveys in the Gulf are flawed and do not accurately portray the multitude of Red Snapper in Louisiana and federal waters.

The Louisiana Legislature has voted overwhelmingly in favor of a measure urging the fisheries department to scrap its 150-angler pilot study. The vote was 85-6 in the state House and 29-0 in the state Senate.

Read the full story at ABC WGNO 

LOUISIANA: Official says red snapper plan will result in higher harvest

June 2, 2017 — The head of the Fisheries Division of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says a pilot program designed to give a select few recreational anglers access to a sizable portion of the Gulf’s red snapper quota is simply an effort to reduce statistical error in the agency’s scientific analysis.

Patrick Banks told NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune Tuesday the exempted fishing permit, which has drawn howls of protest from the recreational-fishing industry, is designed to improve accuracy of LA Creel, an innovative fish-counting program designed by department biologists that has served as a guide for other Gulf states.

The EFP would allow 150 anglers, selected at random, to harvest 25,000 pounds of red snapper in both 2018 and 2019. These anglers would have no daily limits, and would be legally allowed to fish federal waters any time they like. In 2017, the red snapper season in federal waters for all private-boat anglers was only three days.

The proposal fits in with a seven-pronged approach the agency is working on to try to gain management authority over red snapper, Banks said.

The hallmark of that plan, according to Banks, is a so-called Louisiana-only amendment that would give the state full management authority of the fish in both state and federal waters in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Louisiana was given the go-ahead to flesh out the idea by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, but must ultimately present details of the plan to the council for a final up or down vote.

Read the full story at The Times-Picayune

Sen. Luther Strange to Trump: Extend federal red snapper season

May 31, 2017 — U.S. Sen. Luther Strange joined a growing list of lawmakers on Wednesday requesting immediate action from President Donald Trump’s administration to extend this year’s recreational red snapper season.

Strange’s request comes on the eve of the beginning of the recreational season within federal waters. The season is scheduled to run from Thursday through Saturday, making it the shortest recreational season ever for red snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico’s federal waters.

Federal waters extend beyond the nine-nautical mile boundary that is currently controlled by the five Gulf states.

“Recreational red snapper fishing generates hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity every year in Alabama, and those who participate deserve to be able to enjoy their hobby for more than a mere three days each year,” said Strange in a statement posted on his Senate website. “I have urged the President to take action, and I look forward to working with him, as well as (Commerce) Secretary (Wilbur) Ross, to make sure that the voices of recreational anglers are heard.”

Read the full story at AL.com

Gulf Anglers, Fishery Managers Clash Over Red Snapper Opening in Federal Waters

May 30, 2017 — Despite a months-long season for red snapper in state waters off Florida and other Gulf states, fisherman across the Gulf of Mexico are gearing up to protest a brief three-day opening to catch the prized fish in federal Gulf waters. Fishermen argue a short opening hurts businesses and hampers anglers across the Gulf, but fishery managers say a small window is important to preserve a species still recovering from overfishing.

Florida state waters extend nine miles off shore in the Gulf of Mexico; beyond that, the federal government has jurisdiction over what fish can be caught, and when. Within Florida waters, FWC approved 78 days for catching red snapper. Similar seasons are found in other Gulf states like Alabama, while Texas allows for year-round red snapper fishing off it’s Gulf coast.

On June 1, federal regulations will allow just three days for recreational fisherman to tackle red snapper in federal waters in the Gulf. Deeper federal waters are where red snapper is usually found in Southwest Florida, while Florida’s panhandle is deep enough that fishermen can usually catch the fish within the 9-mile state boundary.

Read the full story at WGCU

LOUISIANA: Recreational-fishing groups blast Wildlife & Fisheries red snapper plan

May 30, 2017 — Over the holiday weekend, a national magazine and two conservation organizations slammed Louisiana’s plan for a pilot program that would give 150 recreational anglers the right to harvest 25,000 pounds of red snapper.

In a column published on sportfishingmag.com, Sport Fishing Editor Doug Olander called the program “a solid bitch-slapping to the recreational-fishing community.” Olander said the plan is a step toward “catch-shares,” in which individuals are awarded a percentage of the overall quota and are allowed to harvest their fish without restrictions until they reach their specific quotas.

A similar system exists for the commercial sector of the red snapper fishery, and in the column, Olander acknowledged that catch-shares are sometimes the best way to protect the interests of commercial fishers. For the recreational sector, however, Olander says the catch-share system “fits about as well as a ballerina’s tights on a sumo wrestler.”

One of Olander’s problems with the concept is no one has offered a reasonable and equitable method for applying it. If tags are involved, anglers would have to either purchase tags or be awarded them through a lottery. Either technique would lock certain anglers out of the fishery, awarding a public resource to the wealthy or lucky.

That’s what has happened on the commercial side, where so-called Sea Lords who own large percentages of the quota lease it out to fishers, who actually go out and harvest the fish. Many of the Sea Lords stay on dry land earning massive paychecks from a public resource.

The American Sportfishing Association also blasted Louisiana’s proposal, sending out a Friday news release stating it was “deeply concerned with the long-term ramifications of the pilot program that the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries unveiled on May 25, to the surprise of the entire recreational fishing community.”

Read the full story at The Times-Picayune

Louisiana wants to give 150 anglers unlimited access to 25,000 pounds of red snapper

May 25, 2017 — Despite vehement opposition from recreational-fishing advocacy groups, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says it has worked up a pilot program that will award a significant portion of the state’s red snapper haul to select recreational anglers.

The department announced the plan in a Thursday afternoon press release, just one day after meeting with pro-recreational fishing groups and mentioning nothing about the program.

Under the pilot program, which would run in 2018 and 2019, a total of 150 anglers would be selected at random to receive 25,000 pounds of the recreational red snapper quota. Those anglers would not be subject to daily bag limits or season restrictions.

The structure would be similar to what exists in the commercial sector, where fishers have been awarded percentages of the overall commercial quota, and may harvest their red snapper at any time during the year. The system, called individual fishing quotas, has been panned by recreational-fishing organizations as well as good-government groups because it has set up so-called Sea Lords, who own quota and make hundreds of thousands of dollars on a public resource without ever leaving the dock.

Gov. John Bel Edwards lauded the department’s proposal.

“As a fisherman myself, that sounds like a lot better system than squeezing all of my red snapper fishing into June when there might be bad weather or when family obligations get in the way,” Edwards stated in the news release.

NOAA Fisheries announced last month the 2017 recreational red snapper season in federal waters would run three days, June 1-3. It’s the shortest federal red snapper season in history.

Read the full story at The Times-Picayune

Louisiana proposal might extend federal red snapper season

May 25, 2017 — Louisiana wildlife officials are proposing an experiment that could someday enable private recreational fishermen to catch highly sought Gulf of Mexico red snapper any time of year in federal waters.

The federal season, designed to conserve red snapper, is usually brief. This year it runs June 1-3. Critics say the short season hurts Gulf tackle shops, marinas and other businesses catering to private anglers.

“I asked Wildlife and Fisheries to develop a program that could eventually lead to Louisiana controlling Red Snapper fishing, even in what is determined to be federal waters,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a Thursday news release. “This pilot program could not come soon enough as the federal government has limited anglers to just three days to fish red snapper this year.”

If the proposal is approved by federal regulators, Louisiana would choose 150 people to participate in a pilot program: They could fish in federal waters any time of the year, with an annual limit of 20 red snapper, Assistant Secretary of Wildlife and Fisheries Patrick Banks said in an interview.

Read the full story at the Bradenton Herald

LOUISIANA: State seeks approval to test red snapper program

May 26, 2017 — State officials say they hope a trial program could lead to longer red snapper seasons for Louisiana anglers. It’s the latest action in a years-long debate over the seasons’ length and how federal authorities determine it.

“I asked Wildlife and Fisheries to develop a program that could eventually lead to Louisiana controlling red snapper fishing, even in what is determined to be federal waters,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a news release today. “This pilot program could not come soon enough, as the federal government has limited anglers to just three days to fish red snapper this year.”

Recreational fishermen have complained that federal authorities have set overly restrictive catch limits and unnecessarily short seasons for red snapper despite a rebound in the fish’s numbers. Environmentalists and federal regulators, including NOAA Fisheries, contend the species still needs protection after years of overfishing.

Louisiana has long sought authority to manage red snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico’s federal waters, which begin three miles off its coast but have recently been extended to nine miles for the species.

“Just like the governor, we have heard from anglers across Louisiana and it is clear what they want most is the flexibility to fish for red snapper when it makes sense for them and their families,” state Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Jack Montoucet said. “So we are going to test a new way of doing this.

Read the full story at Houma Today 

South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Meeting June 12-16, 2017 in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

May 26, 2017 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council: 

Meeting Location:

Sawgrass Marriott    

1000 PGA Tour Boulevard   

Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082     

Phone: Reservations: 800/457-4653

or 904/285-7777

Scroll down for: 

– Agenda Highlights 

– Additional Meeting Information and Public Comment  

Agenda Highlights

  • Snapper Grouper Committee
    Work continues on development of adaptive management measures for the red snapper fishery (Amendment 43). The committee will also review measures proposed for both recreational (Regulatory Amendment 26) and commercial (Regulatory Amendment 27) sectors as identified through the Council’s 2016-2020 Vision Blueprint. Measures include reducing the recreational size limit for black sea bass, commercial split seasons and more. In addition, the Committee will continue to review a white paper outlining approaches for developing a limited entry program for federal for-hire (charter) permits in the snapper grouper fishery.
  • Mackerel Cobia Committee
    The committee will receive a report from its advisory panel, discuss options for an emergency action relative to cobia, and receive an update on the development of an interstate fishery management plan for Atlantic cobia (Georgia through New York) by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
  •  Workshop:Improving Survival of Released Fish
    Monday, June 12th from 3:30 – 5:30 PM
    • Join Council members as they receive presentations on best fishing practices being used to reduce discard mortality. Presenters:

      • Dr. Chuck Adams and Dr. Kai Lorenzen – Florida Sea Grant/University of Florida
      • Brian Husky – KeepEmWet Fishing
      • Andy Loftus – Fish Smart/ASA
      • Cameron Rhodes – SAFMC Outreach Staff
      • Stephen Theberg, Jr. – Rising Leaders Academy
      • Tom Twyford – West Palm Beach Fishing Club
      • Additional Meeting Information
         
         Register for daily webinar access to watch the meeting live and view the agenda-at-a-glance.

Briefing book materials are now available!  View and download all of the meeting materials including committee agendas, overviews, presentations, and amendment documents from the June Council Meeting Page.
 
Public Comment Session
Wednesday, June 14 – 4:30 PM  
Formal public comment
The Council will be accept comments on meeting agenda items. The Council Chair, based on the number of individuals wishing to comment, will determine the amount of time provided to each commenter.