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For Immediate Release
NOAA
FISHERIES SERVICE FISHERY BULLETIN, SOUTHEAST REGIONAL
OFFICE
Early Closure of the Red
Snapper Recreational Fishery in the Gulf of Mexico
New Regulatory Action:
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries Service)
announces the recreational fishery for red snapper in federal waters of
the Gulf of Mexico will close effective 12:01 a.m. local time August 5,
2008, through December 31, 2008, the end of the current fishing year.
The recreational fishery in federal waters will reopen on June 1, 2009,
the beginning of the 2009 federal recreational fishing season. NOAA
Fisheries Service has determined this action is necessary to prevent
overfishing and to keep the recreational fishery from exceeding its
quota during the 2008 fishing year.
Closure of the recreational red
snapper fishery in federal waters complies with regulations implemented
under the Fishery Management Plan for Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf
of Mexico (Reef Fish FMP), and in accordance with requirements
specified in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act. NOAA Fisheries Service is required to close a fishery or fishery
sector in federal waters when the quota is met or projected to be met.
Background:
Constraining harvest to the quota is crucial to meeting the legal
requirements to prevent and end overfishing and rebuild the red snapper
resource of the Gulf of Mexico. A Court ruling in 2007 required NOAA
Fisheries Service and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council
(Council) to revise the red snapper rebuilding plan with a goal of
having a 50-percent probability, or greater, of ending overfishing for
red snapper between 2009 and 2010 and rebuilding the stock by 2032.
Subsequently, NOAA Fisheries Service implemented temporary regulations
in 2007 for federal waters to reduce harvest and fishing mortality for
red snapper. These regulations included a recreational quota of 3.185
million pounds (MP) and a commercial quota of 3.315 MP. The
recreational bag limit was reduced to two fish, with a zero-fish bag
limit for captains or crews of for hire vessels. The minimum size limit
for the recreational fishery remained at 16 inches total length (TL)
and the federal fishing season remained April 21 through October 31.
These harvesting restrictions were intended to constrain the
recreational fishery to the quota for the fishing year. However, Texas
kept its state waters open year-round and anglers were allowed a daily
bag limit of four fish. Similarly, Florida maintained a fishing season
of April 15 through October 31 during 2007 in its state waters, and a
four-fish recreational bag limit. These incompatible regulations in
state waters contributed to a recreational harvest that exceeded the
recreational red snapper quota by approximately 1.0 MP in 2007. The
commercial fishery landed 3.22 MP, or 97 percent of the 2007 commercial
quota.
2008 Regulations:
In January 2008, NOAA Fisheries Service published a final rule
implementing actions in the Council’s joint Amendment 27 to the Reef
Fish FMP and Amendment 14 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp
Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico. These regulations further reduced the
2008 recreational quota for red snapper to 2.45 MP, and the commercial
quota to 2.55 MP. To keep the recreational fishery’s harvest within the
quota, the recreational red snapper fishing season in federal waters
was reduced to June 1 through September 30. No changes were made
to the established bag limits and minimum size limits. To ensure the
2008 recreational red snapper quota would not be exceeded during the
fishing year, NOAA Fisheries Service and the Council requested the five
Gulf of Mexico states adopt compatible regulations for 2008. Louisiana
and Mississippi implemented regulations compatible with federal
regulations, and Alabama is undecided. Florida implemented a two-fish
bag limit, compatible with federal regulations, but maintained its
recreational fishing season of April 15 through October 31; 78 days
longer than the federal fishing season.
Texas maintained its existing year-round fishing season and a four-fish
bag limit in state waters, thus not complying with federal
regulations.
Analysis Summary:
The June 1 through September 30 federal recreational fishing season was
based on the assumption of compatible recreational red snapper
regulations in state waters. NOAA Fisheries Service’s analyses
indicate the longer fishing seasons and less restrictive bag limits in
state waters will result in a recreational quota overage for the 2008
fishing year. Substantial quantities of red snapper are harvested by
the recreational fishery from state waters. For example, reported
recreational red snapper landings from state waters off the west coast
of Florida in 2007 represented more than 25 percent of the total Gulf
of Mexico recreational red snapper landings, and more than 50 percent
of the total reported recreational landings of red snapper for the
state. Similarly, landings from Texas state waters constitute more than
30 percent of the state’s total recreational red snapper landings.
With this concern in mind, NOAA Fisheries Service conducted an analysis
to project 2008 red snapper recreational landings in accordance with
the established federal and state recreational fishing seasons and
harvesting restrictions. Recent and historical landings were used to
project both landings and season length for each state by recreational
sector (charter, private, and headboat). Where necessary, landings were
adjusted for changes in regulations (e.g., lower bag limit, shorter
season length). The full analytical report can be found on the
Southeast Regional Office Web site: http://www.sero.nfms.noaa.gov.
In
summary, NOAA Fisheries Service projects the recreational red snapper
landings for January 1 through December 31, 2008, will be approximately
2.78 MP; a 13.5-percent overage in the 2008 recreational quota. These
projections likely represent an underestimate of the landings because
they do not account for shifts in fishing effort or non-compliance that
are likely to occur as a result of incompatible state and federal
regulations. NOAA Fisheries Service is increasingly concerned there
will be substantial overages, and a concomitant failure to maintain the
established rebuilding targets. Quota overages severely impact the
ability of NOAA Fisheries Service and the Council to attain required
reductions in fishing mortality and comply with the legal requirements
to end overfishing of red snapper. NOAA Fisheries Service estimates
there is a 75-percent probability the 2.45 MP recreational quota will
not be exceeded during the 2008 fishing year if the federal fishery is
closed on August 5, 2008. NOAA Fisheries Service believes the timing of
the closure is necessary to adequately account for anticipated but
unquantifiable shifts in effort into state waters once the federal
fishery closes.
On the Web:
Southeast Fishery Bulletin
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/bulletins/pdfs/2008/FB08-017%20Red%20Snapper%20Closure.pdf
Quota Closure Analysis:
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sf/pdfs/red%20snapper%202008%20quota%20closure%20analysis.pdf
Federal Register Notice:
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sf/pdfs/redsnapper_closure.pdf
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