Red snapper Archives - Page 36 of 42

Red snapper talk dominates Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting

July 21, 2016 — Red snapper again dominated the most recent Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting, and what proponents of separation of the recreational sector into for-hire/charter and private-angler groups called an “experiment” apparently will be become standard operating procedure.

The biggest news was the council backed a proposal by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to establish an Ad Hoc Advisory Panel for Recreational Red Snapper Management set to meet for the first time in January 2017.

This year marked the second year of sector separation (Reef Fish Amendment 45), which granted charters 47 percent of the annual recreational red snapper take from Gulf waters, and there was a three-year sunset provision at the outset. The most recent council vote extended the sunset provision to 2022. This, and all other actions like it, are sent to the U.S. Department of Commerce for review.

Read the full story at The Advocate

Louisiana is only Gulf state not supporting regional red snapper management bill

July 18, 2016 — Louisiana currently stands alone as the only Gulf state indicating it would be unable to afford to oversee red snapper management if oversight authority of the fishery is ultimately stripped away from the federal government.

In interviews with LouisianaSportsman.com, marine fisheries representatives from the other four Gulf states have confirmed they are still supporting H.R. 3094 from Baton Rouge Congressman Garret Graves and had no reservations about moving forward because federal funding was stripped from the bill last month.

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Charlie Melancon said in late June that he opposes Graves’ bill that would strip management of red snapper in the Gulf from federal authority and hand it over to the states. Melancon said his opposition stems from the lack of federal funding.

That wasn’t a concern for the other four Gulf states, however.

“Alabama is prepared to manage the red snapper fishery with or without federal funding. We still think state management is the best idea,” said Chris Blankenship, director of marine resources for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. “A lot of the work we’re doing with red snapper, we’re already paying for out of our funds now and providing that information to NOAA for the stock assessments for red snapper.”

Read the full story at the Louisiana Sportsman

Gulf Council Seeks Applicants for Ad Hoc Red Snapper Panel

July 12, 2016 — The following was released by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council:

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is accepting applications for membership on a newly created Ad Hoc Red Snapper Private Angler Advisory Panel. The charge of the panel is to develop fair and effective ways to mitigate the derby fishing occurring in the private angler component of the red snapper fishery. The panel will meet by January 2017.

Advisory panels are comprised of individuals who are knowledgeable and interested in the conservation and management of the fishery resources, or who are engaged in the harvest of Gulf of Mexico managed species. Membership provides individuals with an opportunity to become more directly involved in the management decision-making process.

Ad hoc advisory panel members are appointed by the Council and will serve a two-year term. Advisory panel members generally meet no more than once or twice per year and are compensated for travel and per diem expenses. Ad Hoc panels operate in the same manner; however, these panels are temporary and are disbanded when the panel charge has been met.

To apply to this Ad Hoc Advisory Panel, complete the online application.

If you have any questions, please call the Council office at 813-348-1630.

Applications must be received by August 5, 2016 for consideration by the Council during its August meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.

ROB WALTON & FRED KRUPP: Restoring Fisheries, Scoring a Net Gain

July 11, 2016 — Tres Atkins followed his passion and made the biggest bet of his life: He became a commercial fisherman. In 2006, he bought a boat, moved to Galveston, Texas, and began fishing for red snapper. He also unwittingly joined the front lines of one of the most important conservation success stories in recent history—the turnaround of U.S. fisheries.

The future looked bleak when Mr. Atkins entered the fishing business. Decades of overfishing had sharply depleted the red snapper population, and attempts to address the problem had led to a tangle of federal regulations, including short fishing seasons and low quotas. That, plus depressed prices, made it hard to make ends meet. Yet a decade later, the Gulf of Mexico red snapper population is rebounding, and Mr. Atkins’s big bet has paid off. Having entered the fishery with a single boat, he now runs one of the largest family-owned fleets in the Gulf of Mexico, along with a wholesale seafood business.

His success is part of a larger story. The U.S. has reversed the seemingly intractable downward trend in fish stocks that began in the 1980s. A composite health index of federal fisheries is at an all-time high. American jobs supported by domestic fisheries now number 1.83 million, up 15% since 2011.

Not every fishery is thriving. The challenges facing some fishermen, including many small operators in New England, are real. But after years of alarming headlines, a national picture of success is emerging. What fueled the comeback?

Read the full story at The Wall Street Journal

Red snapper management would cost Louisiana $10 million-plus in first year, LDWF says

July 8, 2016 — If red snapper management is ultimately turned over to the individual Gulf states through Garret Graves’ bill currently moving through Congress, the program would come with a $10,039,000 price tag for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in its first year, according to the state’s head fisheries biologist.

The cost estimate was unveiled in Baton Rouge by LDWF Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fisheries Patrick Banks at Thursday’s four-hour meeting of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, where charter fishermen spoke out against the legislation and members of Coastal Conservation Association Louisiana voiced their support for the bill.

The commission took no action on the red snapper presentation or the cost analysis.

“We had a Gulf Council meeting break out,” David Cresson, executive director for CCA Louisiana, said after the meeting. “It was a bit surprising to see representatives from Texas and Florida — representatives of historically anti-recreational groups — show up to give their opinions.

“So it felt a lot like a Gulf Council meeting today. And all the arguments they made sounded just like at the Gulf Council every time.”

Read the full story at the Louisiana Sportsman

Snapper management tops Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission meeting agenda

July 7, 2016 — The issue of red snapper and the development of Louisiana’s plan to manage red snapper for the private sector of recreationally caught red snapper is a top item on Thursday’s agenda for the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission.

The meeting is scheduled to convene at 9:30 a.m. at state Wildlife and Fisheries headquarters on Quail Drive in Baton Rouge.

Furor arose in the past two weeks after Louisiana Congressman Garret Graves’ sponsored bill calling for state management of red snapper for recreational anglers cleared the U.S. House’s Natural Resources Committee.

While not outlined specifically by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ Secretary Charlie Melancon nor his staff, Melancon objected to the bill because it did not contain adequate funding for state management of the species.

Read the full story at The New Orleans Advocate

Louisiana Creel not enough to cover full snapper management, biologist says

July 6, 2016 — Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Charlie Melancon’s opposition to a congressional bill to hand over red snapper management to the Gulf states hinged on the bill’s lack of federal funding and what he estimated could be a $10 million annual price tag.

But that flew in the face of previous statements by his predecessor’s administration, which said in a congressional hearing that the agency had plenty of money for state management thanks to a saltwater fishing license increase instituted to fund the data-collection program known as LA Creel.

So who’s correct?

“Unfortunately, I would tend to say my current boss is more than likely closer to the truth,” LDWF Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fisheries Patrick Banks told LouisianaSportsman.com.

The reason is pretty simple, Banks said: LA Creel collects only one part of the data needed to perform full stock assessments necessary to effectively manage fisheries.

“LA Creel collects fisheries-dependent data,” the biologist said.

That includes information on recreational and charter catches, he said.

“What fish are caught, what types of fish are caught — stuff like that,” Banks explained.

However, LA Creel doesn’t capture any commercial landings, fisheries-independent data (think scientific sampling) or enforcement between state waters and the boundary of federal waters at 200 nautical miles.

And there probably just isn’t enough money in the program to cover those non-recreational aspects of management, he said.

Read the full story at Louisiana Sportsman

Sen. Rubio fishing for review of red snapper ban

June 28, 2016 — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who chairs the Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, called Monday for the U.S. Department of Commerce to review the decision to close the South Atlantic to red snapper fishing for a second consecutive year.

“The economic benefit to my home state of Florida, along with other states that fall under the South Atlantic, cannot be overstated,” wrote Rubio, a candidate for re-election, in a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Acting Inspector General David Smith.

Read the full story from the News Service of Florida at WWSB

LDWF Secretary opposes move to give Louisiana authority over red snapper

June 22, 2016 — Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Charlie Melancon stated Tuesday he is opposed to a push to transfer management authority of Gulf of Mexico red snapper from the federal government to the fisheries agencies of the five Gulf states.

Melancon said a bill proposed by Rep. Garret Graves (R-Baton Rouge) that’s currently making its way through Congress would grant Gulf states management authority without providing necessary dollars.

“Without federal funding, Louisiana could potentially lack the proper resources to manage the red-snapper fishery,” Melancon said. “It would be fiscally irresponsible for the department to support any mandate that would result in an unknown amount of fiscal burden placed on the state of Louisiana for the management of a single species of fish.”

Previously, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida had joined Louisiana in calling for NOAA Fisheries to surrender management control of the popular reef fish. Critics say gross mismanagement of red snapper has led to reduced fishing opportunities for recreational anglers. This year’s federal red-snapper season for recreational anglers was initially set at nine days, but was extended to 11 days after tropical weather kept many anglers at the dock.

Read the full story at the New Orleans Times-Picayune

Rep. Jones, others want red snapper fishery to reopen

June 20, 2016 — More than a dozen congressmen, including U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, wants federal fisheries regulators to reconsider a decision to close the South Atlantic red snapper fishery.

The representatives said data produced by a Florida research institution shows the South Atlantic red snapper stock is healthier than what federal data indicates so the fishery should be reopened to commercial and recreational fishing.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries program, announced the South Atlantic red snapper season is closed this year because the total number of red snapper removed from the population in 2015 exceeded the allowable level, according to the NOAA Fisheries website.

Read the full story at the Daily Reflector