Saving Seafood

Commercial Harvest of Atlantic Group Cobia in South Atlantic Waters Will Close on December 6, 2016

December 1, 2016 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Commercial harvest of Atlantic group cobia in South Atlantic waters will close at 12:01 a.m. (local time) December 6, 2016. The 2016 commercial annual catch limit is 50,000 pounds round or gutted weight. Updated landings data indicate that commercial harvest of cobia will likely reach the annual catch limit by that date. Commercial harvest will reopen at 12:01 a.m. (local time) on January 1, 2017.

The operator of a vessel that is landing cobia for sale must have landed and bartered, traded, or sold such cobia prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, December 6, 2016. The prohibition on sale and purchase does not apply to the sale or purchase of cobia that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m. (local time) December 6, 2016, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.

This closure is necessary to protect the cobia resource by preventing the commercial annual catch limit from being exceeded.

Recreational Harvest of Hogfish in Federal Waters of the South Atlantic Will Close on November 30, 2016

November 28th, 2016 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council: 

SOUTHEAST FISHERY BULLETIN     

(South Atlantic)

FB16-079

Sustainable Fisheries Division

727-824-5305  

November 25, 2016    

 Recreational Harvest of Hogfish in Federal Waters of the South Atlantic Will Close on November 30, 2016 

  Recreational harvest of hogfish in federal waters of the South Atlantic will close at 12:01 a.m. (local time) on November 30, 2016.  Recreational harvest of hogfish has reached the 2016 recreational catch limit of 85,355 pounds whole weight.  As a result, recreational harvest of hogfish in federal waters of the South Atlantic will be closed for the remainder of 2016.  Federal waters will reopen to recreational harvest of hogfish at 12:01 a.m. (local time) on January 1, 2017. 

 During the closure: 

  • Recreational harvest or possession of hogfish is prohibited in or from federal waters in the South Atlantic.

This closure is necessary to protect the hogfish stock by limiting the amount of landings that exceed the recreational catch limit. 

FLORIDA: FWC OKS hogfish changes, other measures at meeting

November 23, 2016 — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved several conservation measures that are consistent with federal rules and set a new state management boundary for hogfish at its November meeting in St. Petersburg.

“Hogfish is an economically important species that is popular with the diving and angling community,” said Chairman Brian Yablonski. “This was not an easy decision, but will help balance the species’ needs while still offering opportunities for anglers.”

Hogfish is over-fished and undergoing overfishing in the Florida Keys and east Florida. Federal law requires the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council to end overfishing immediately and implement a 10-year rebuilding plan.

Because most hogfish off the Keys and east Florida are taken in Florida state waters, consistency with similar regulations pending approval in Atlantic federal waters is necessary to rebuild the stock.

Read the full story at Florida Weekly

South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Meeting December 5-9, 2016 in Atlantic Beach, NC

November 22, 2016 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Agenda Highlights

Mackerel Cobia Committee 

Review public comment and take final action for changing the fishing year for Atlantic cobia (GA to NY); and take final action on Coastal Migratory Pelagic Amendment 29 addressing king mackerel allocations in the Gulf of Mexico.

Snapper Grouper Committee 

Take final action for measures to reduce the harvest of mutton snapper; continue discussion on options for red snapper and recreational reporting; receive the annual review of the Vision Blueprint and consider options to include in the Vision Blueprint amendments for commercial and recreational snapper grouper fisheries; and consider measures to reduce harvest of golden tilefish based on the most recent stock assessment

Data Collection Committee  Take final action on the For-Hire Electronic Reporting Amendment that would require electronic reporting for federally permitted charter vessels and modify current reporting requirements for headboats.

Joint Dolphin Wahoo/Snapper Grouper/Mackerel Cobia Committees  Continue work on alternatives to modify allocations for dolphin (mahi mahi) and yellowtail snapper and approve for public hearings to be held in Jan/Feb 2017; and continue discussion on options for limited entry for federally permitted for-hire (charter) vessels.

See more information at the SAFMC

Reminder! Atlantic Cobia Public Hearing via Webinar Scheduled for Tuesday, October 25th at 6 PM

October 24, 2016 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

REMINDER! October 25, 2016: SAFMC Public Hearing Webinar about Changes to the Recreational Fishing Season for Atlantic Cobia

Coastal Migratory Pelagics Amendment 30 includes one action to change the recreational fishing year for Atlantic cobia. In combination with the proposed changes to the recreational bag/vessel limit and minimum size limit in Framework Amendment 4 (approved by the SAFMC in September 2016), the change to the recreational fishing year is expected to reduce the risk of exceeding the recreational annual catch limit before participants in all states have opportunities to fish for cobia. The proposed measure would impact management of Atlantic cobia, which extends from the FL/GA border northward to NY.

Date: Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Time: 6:00 PM

Location: The public hearing is being held via webinar only.

Registration for the webinar is required – Click this link to register.

Hearing Overview: Council staff will provide a presentation on the amendment and provide participants an opportunity to ask questions. Once the Q&A session is complete, staff will open the public comment portion of the hearing and participants will be able to provide verbal public comment via the webinar using the mics on their computer or phone.

Amendment Documents/Presentations: Access the amendment documents and a video presentation to learn more about the action in the amendment.

Read more at the SAFMC

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Scientific & Statistical Committee Set to Meet in Charleston, SC

October 11th, 2016 — The following was released by The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council: 

Location: 

Charleston Marriott Hotel

170 Lockwood Boulevard
Charleston, SC  29403
(843) 723-3000

 View the meeting agenda, overview and other briefing materials here

 Tune in to the Meeting via Webinar

The meeting will be broadcast live each day. Register to tune in via webinar using the registration links below:

 October 18: 1:30 PM-5:30 PM – Register here

 October 19: 8:30 AM-5:30 PM – Register here

 October 20: 8:30 AM-3:00 PM – Register here

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Public Comment on a Notice of Availability for Hogfish in Federal Waters of the South Atlantic Region

October 11th, 2016 — The following was released by South Atlantic Fishery Management Council: 

NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on Amendment 37 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Amendment 37).

NOAA Fisheries is proposing to manage hogfish in the South Atlantic as two populations: Georgia through North Carolina and Florida Keys/East Florida. A population assessment determined that the Florida Keys/East Florida population is undergoing overfishing (rate of removal is too high) and is overfished (population abundance is too low) and, therefore, in need of a rebuilding plan. The overfishing and overfished status of the Georgia/North Carolina population is unknown.

 Actions in Amendment 37 would

  • Modify the management unit for hogfish.
  • Establish a rebuilding plan for the Florida Keys/East Florida population to increase hogfish biomass to sustainable levels.
  • Specify commercial and recreational annual catch limits and accountability measures for the Georgia/North Carolina and Florida Keys/East Florida populations of hogfish.
  • Modify or establish minimum size limits, commercial trip limits, and recreational bag limits for both populations of hogfish; and establish a recreational fishing season for the Florida Keys/East Florida population.For more information, please see the frequently asked questions section at:
    http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/s_atl/sg/2015/am37/index.htmlRequest for Comments
    The comment period on Amendment 37 ends on December 6, 2016. You may obtain electronic copies of Amendment 37 from the NOAA Fisheries web site at
    http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/s_atl/sg/2015/am37/index.html or the e-Rulemaking Portal (see Addresses section).

    Addresses
    You may submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2016-0068, by either of the following methods:

    ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.

    1. Go to: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NOAA-NMFS-2016-0068.
    2. Click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields.
    3. Enter or attach your comments.

    MAIL: Submit written comments to Nikhil Mehta, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.

    INSTRUCTIONS: 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.

    All comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on  http://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly accessible. NOAA Fisheries will accept anonymous comments (enter “N/A” in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).

Commercial Harvest of Vermilion Snapper in Federal Waters of the South Atlantic Will Close on October 11, 2016

October 4, 2016 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Commercial harvest of vermilion snapper in federal waters of the South Atlantic will close at 12:01 a.m. (local time) October 11, 2016. The 2016 July-December commercial catch limit is 431,460 pounds whole weight. Commercial landings are approaching the commercial catch limit and should close to prevent the catch limit from being exceeded. Commercial harvest will reopen at 12:01 a.m. (local time) on January 1, 2017.

The operator of a vessel that has been issued a federal commercial permit for snapper-grouper and is landing vermilion snapper for sale must have landed and bartered, traded, or sold such vermilion snapper prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, October 11, 2016. The prohibition on sale does not apply to sale or purchase of vermilion snapper that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m. (local time) October 11, 2016, and held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.

During the commercial closure:

  • Harvest or possession of vermilion snapper in or from federal waters is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits when the recreational sector is open.
  • Sale and purchase of vermilion snapper in or from federal waters is prohibited.
  • The closure applies in both state and federal waters for vessels that have a federal commercial permit for South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper.

This closure is necessary to protect the vermilion snapper resources by preventing the commercial annual catch limit from being exceeded.

Control Date for the Federal For-Hire Recreational Sector of Fisheries for the Atlantic Dolphin and Wahoo, Atlantic Coastal Migratory Pelagics, and South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper

September 28, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

On September 27, 2016, NOAA Fisheries published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking to set a control date of June 15, 2016, for the federal charter vessel/headboat (for-hire) component of the recreational sectors of the coastal migratory pelagics fishery in the Atlantic, dolphin and wahoo fishery in the Atlantic, and snapper-grouper fishery in the South Atlantic. This notice informs current and potential future fishermen that the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) is considering restrictions limiting participation in these fisheries. Fishermen who enter the federal for-hire recreational sector for these fisheries after June 15, 2016, will not be assured of future access should a management regime that limits participation in the sector be prepared and implemented.

The establishment of a control date does not commit the Council or NOAA Fisheries to any particular management regime. The Council may or may not make use of this control date as part of the requirements for participation in these fisheries. Fishermen are not guaranteed future participation in the sector, regardless of their entry date.  The Council may take action that would affect participants who were in these fisheries prior to the control date, or the Council may choose to take no further action to control entry or access.

Feds propose new limits on cobia to avoid closing fishery

September 21, 2016 — Regulators have agreed to recommend changes to cobia limits in federal waters for next year that may prevent another near-debacle like this past summer in management of the popular fish.

If approved by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, the new regulations from the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council developed at their meeting last week in Myrtle Beach would be implemented in 2017 in waters beyond three miles from shore from Georgia to New York.

According to a news release from SAFMC, the changes are designed to help extend the season for recreational and commercial fishermen and help ensure stable fishing opportunities for the migratory stock.

Advocates for anglers and charter captains expressed satisfaction with the compromise but cautioned that there may be other restrictions adopted by individual states.

“The regulations for cobia in federal waters that were passed 7-to-6 last week at the SAFMC meeting were a direct result of the fishing community’s engagement in fisheries management,” said Southern Shores resident Billy Gorham, who owns Bowed Up Lures.

The SAFMC recommended that the recreational bag limit be cut to one fish per person, per day, with a vessel limit of six, and the recreational minimum size limit increased to 36 inches measured from the tip of the mouth to where the tail begins to split, known as the fork length.

A commercial trip limit of two fish per person per day, with no more than six fish per vessel per day, whichever is more restrictive, would also be established.

Read the full story at The Outer Banks Voice