Red Snapper season

[Candy]

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council August Update

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council met in Pensacola, Florida August 16 – 20, 2010, to address a host of fishery issues, including a supplemental red snapper season and the overfished status of gag. During the weeklong meeting, the Council took the following actions:

Red Snapper
The Gulf Council agreed to reopen the recreational red snapper season beginning at 12:01 a.m. October 1, 2010, to be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday only, through 12:01 p.m. November 22, allowing for an addition 24 fishing days. The measure will be reviewed and, if approved, implemented by NOAA Fisheries. NOAA Fisheries is currently seeking comment on the proposed emergency action and will accept comments through August 31, 2010. Click here for more information on how to submit comments <http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/bulletins/pdfs/2010/FB10-075%20NOAA%20Seeks%20Comments%20on%20Emergency%20A ction%20to%20Authorize%20Re-opening%20of%20Recreational%20Red%20Snapper%20in%2 0the%20Gulf.pdf>.

In June, the Gulf Council requested that NOAA Fisheries Service institute rulemaking to reopen the recreational red snapper season later this year if it was determined that the 2010 quota was not filled before the fishery closed on July 24, 2010. The rationale is that the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and subsequent federal fishing area closure resulted in reduced fishing effort, leaving the recreational red snapper quota unfilled. NOAA Fisheries has determined that approximately 2.3 millions pounds of the 3.4 million pound recreational quota remains.

In other red snapper news, the Council discussed possible regional management of red snapper and asked staff to continue working on a draft discussion paper that explores options for dividing the stock into sub-units.

The Council also discussed an increase in red snapper total allowable catch for 2011-2012. The Council directed staff to proceed with a regulatory amendment, selecting as its preferred alternative setting total allowable catch at 7.185 million pounds for 2011. That would mean commercial and recreational quotas of 3.664 million pounds and 3.521 million pounds, respectively.

Gag
The Council approved a request that NOAA Fisheries Service publish an interim rule that will prohibit the recreational harvest of gag beginning January 1, 2011, with a 100,000-pound commercial quota. The commercial quota was established to allow fishermen targeting other species to retain some bycatch of gag. A reopening is dependent upon a reassessment that will soon be underway and available for Council review during its February 2011 Council meeting in Gulfport, Mississippi. The Council will decide at that time whether it is necessary to request an extension of the interim rule or a new revised interim rule that would allow for some recreational harvest of gag.

The interim rule also suspends the red grouper multi-use individual fishing quota shares, in order to prevent a possible overrun of the gag annual catch limit. Without the suspension, it is likely the commercial gag annual catch target and annual catch limit would be exceeded, triggering accountability measures on the commercial sector.

Gag is one of the four species under the management of the Gulf Council that is overfished, and the Council is developing an amendment to the Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan – Reef Fish Amendment 32 - to end overfishing and rebuild the stock within ten years. But because that amendment is not scheduled for implementation until mid-late 2011, an interim rule is necessary to minimize regulatory discards and reduce overfishing of gag.

Amendment 32 will establish accountability measures for both the recreational and commercial fisheries; make adjustments to multi-use individual fishing quota shares for the commercial sector; look at modifying bag limits, size limits, and closed seasons for gag and red grouper; address both commercial and recreational bycatch issues; consider recreational data collection and monitoring programs, and; consider time and/or area closures.

Public hearings will be scheduled early next year, with final action expected during the June or August 2011 Council meeting.

Greater Amberjack
The Council is considering a regulatory framework action that could result in a recreational season closure for greater amberjack in an effort to avoid in-season quota closures during peak fishing months and maximize social and economic benefits. Last year the recreational greater amberjack season closed October 24, after the 1.368 million pound quota was exceeded. The Council has tentatively chosen a recreational seasonal closure of June 1 through July 31, as its preferred alternative, and is expected to take final action on the amendment during its October meeting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

[captfrankie]

Is this second season a done deal. Will we really be able to catch Red Snapper again this year?

I just realized that the closed time is listed as 1201 pm, should that be 1201am. I wouldn't think they would close the season at noon, however stranger things have happened.

[jonesrw]

I think it still needs a blessing from some office but I think it's all but a done deal.

I still think I would have rather had a full season next year but this is still MUCH better than just opening it for first couple weeks of October, which was their other option.

[jonesrw]

Has the state had anything to say about this? Is it possible that the state won't go along with the extended season? Talk about a catch-22. You could catch them in federal water but you better eat them before you come back in to state waters.

[Candy]

From the CCA
Gulf anglers finally catch a break
Fall red snapper season starts to take shape

HOUSTON, TX – A fall red snapper season is in the works thanks to a vote of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council at its meeting last week in Florida. The extension is designed to give recreational anglers who might have missed out on the 53-day season due to closures associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill a chance to fish.
“The Council is making the best of an unprecedented situation and they should be commended for coming up with this arrangement after a very difficult summer for Gulf Coast anglers,” said Chester Brewer, chairman of CCA’s National Government Relations Committee. “As long as quota remains to be caught and the stock stays on track to rebuild, re-opening this fishery will provide a huge boost to the angling communities in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.”
At its meeting in June, the Gulf Council cleared the way for an extension of the season with an emergency rule giving NOAA Regional Administrator Roy Crabtree the authority to extend the season if recreational quota remained available after the season closed on July 24. NOAA Fisheries has since determined that approximately 2.3 million pounds of the 3.4-million-pound recreational quota remain uncaught. The emergency rule passed by the Council last week would allow anglers to fish each weekend (12:01 a.m. Friday to 12:01 a.m. Monday) from Oct. 1 to Nov. 22, for a total of 24 additional fishing days. The daily bag limit will remain two fish per person with a 16-inch minimum size limit.“With some good luck and good weather, the anglers who have been forced to stay at the dock this summer will be able to get out and take advantage of this recovering fishery,” said Russell Nelson, CCA’s Gulf Fisheries consultant. “Managers will need to guard against letting an extension negatively impact the red snapper quota next year, but properly monitored, this is a good move by the Council that will be much appreciated.”

[captfrankie]

So, will fishermen and women in Texas be able to fish. They did after all get the entire season to catch theirs.

[Candy]

If Florida's FWC decided to, we could have a year round season in our State waters too. Instead, they have chosen to fall in lock step with the Feds. That keeps the Charter boys happy since they are unfairly FORCED, by law, to follow Federal rules in State waters if they hold a Federal Waters license.

That means that if they kept the State waters open to fishing RS the private recreational fishermen would be able to fish for RS but the Charters that have Federal Waters licenses would be excluded from fishing for RS whenever the Feds closed Federal Waters. I think this is horribly unfair to restrict access to recreational fishermen just because they have to rent space on a charter because they don't own a boat.

Right now, some of the Charter Guys are trying to broker a deal to fish year round at the expense of the recreational fishermen. It began as the "SOS" Save Our Selves, movement. They are very active in the fishery meetings and continuing to push for changes that they believe will improve their access to the Gulf. They see how the Commercial fishermen benefited from having their own sector and they would really like to get a piece of the protected sector pie. They are not going after a peice of the Commercial sector pie, (Many of them also own commercial fishing licences or shares in commercial fishing boats.) they are going after the majority of the Recreational sector pie. Of course, this would not bode well for the private recreational fishermen or any of the hundreds of thousands of businesses dotting the Gulf of Mexico that depend on the private recreational fishermen to keep them in business.

Unless the private recreational fishermen and the businesses that rely on them stand up and make noise, we may soon be forced to book trips on charters if we want to catch red snappers or buy them from the fish houses supplied by the Commercial fishermen. If you think the feds unfairly tied the charter industry by regulations, how do you think you'll feel if sector seperation goes through and the recreational fishermen go from getting 49% of the allowable take to the millions of of private recreational fishing the the GOM having to share 19% of the RS TAC while hundreds of charters fishing the GOM got 30% of the RS TAC?

The saga continues. Lets hope for a solution that is fair to everyone!

TAC = Total allowable Catch
RS = Red Snapper