SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Ed Lallo — February 11, 2015 — The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council recently held their first meeting of the new year in Point Clear, Alabama, a town where in the 1800s wealthy families from Mobile and New Orleans tried to hide from yellow fever outbreaks by escaping to the daily breeze off Mobile Bay they deemed as “good air”. The “good air” from Mobile Bay continues to blow, but for Council members there was no hiding from tough fishery issues they face during the coming year.
As in the past, regional management for recreational red snapper and red snapper allocation was at the forefront of discussion. The Council heard an update on the Red Snapper Stock Assessment including information on the 2014 provisional red snapper catch estimates. It also received the overfishing limit and acceptable biological catch limit recommendations from its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC).
Members of the Council asked staff to prepare a framework action to increase the red snapper annual catch limit based on revised acceptable biological catch using the 2014 provisional red snapper catch estimates. The SSC must first review those estimates and determine whether to approve the revised catch recommendations. When completed the Council will then hold a special meeting to review the SSC’s recommendations and take final action on a framework action to increase the annual catch accordingly.
“An updated positive stock assessment indicates that the red snapper allowable catch could be increased by as much as 2 million pounds,” said Louisiana Gulf Council member Harlon Pearce, GSI’s board president.” said Louisiana Gulf Council member Harlon Pearce, Gulf Seafood Institute’s (GSI) board president.
Pearce explained terms of the share of the recreational catch and the season lengths for both the recreational fishermen and the charter- for-hire sectors wouldn’t be made official until later this year.
National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Office Administrator Dr. Roy Crabtree stated the preliminary season lengths based on alternatives for the 2015 recreational quota and adopted split between the private and for-hire sectors could be available by the next meeting in Biloxi in March.
According to Crabtree, the council’s current preferred alternative on splitting the recreational sector’s increased snapper quota of roughly one million pounds between the two recreational sectors would be private anglers receiving 60 percent, or an additional 600,000 pounds of fish, and charter for hire and additional 400,000 pounds.
“The Council is going to attempt to expedite the process so recreational fishermen and charter-for-hire captains will be able to fish the new quota beginning by the first of June,” said GSI executive director Margaret Henderson. “If something happens to delay the process there is the possibility that the season could be split.”
Red Snapper Allocation – Amendment 28
The Council reviewed a revised draft of Amendment 28, which considers reallocating a portion of the commercial quota to the recreational sector. After amending the purpose and need statement, the Council added two alternatives to Action One:
Alternative 8 – The increase in allowable harvest (due to changes in recreational data) from the update assessment will be allocated to the recreational sector. The percentage increase for the recreational sector should be the amount attributable to recalibration of Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) catch estimates.
Alternative 9 – The increase in allowable harvest (due to changes in recreational data) from the update assessment will be allocated to the recreational sector. The percentage increase for the recreational sector should be that amount attributable to recalibration of MRIP catch estimates and the change in size selectivity.
“The Council has received information that there was in increase in the recreational catch estimates,” explained Charlene Ponce, Public Information Officer for the Gulf Council.
“Two factors contributed to that increase. One is the recalibration of the Marine Recreational Information Program estimates. The recalibration was done to ensure the older catch estimates compiled under the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey are comparable to the new MRIP estimates.
The second factor is a change in selectivity; meaning fishermen in recent years have been targeting larger, older fish.”
“Looking at the two new alternatives added to Amendment 28; Alternative 8 asks for an analysis of the portion of increased catch estimates due only to the MRIP recalibration, and alternative 9 asks that both factors are included in the analysis. For each of those scenarios, whatever the analysis shows the increase to be would be allocated to the recreational sector,” she said.
The Council will review Amendment 28 again during its next meeting and could take final action as early as June.
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.