July 21, 2014 — Just when the Gulf waters looked like they were starting to calm, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Gulf Council) has stirred them once again by announcing a series of public hearings to address Amendment 40, better known as Gulf Red Snapper recreational sector separation.
“The Council is considering separating the recreational sector into two different components: a federal for-hire component and a private angling component,” said Charlene Ponce, a spokesperson for the Gulf Council. “We’ve scheduled public hearings around the Gulf to get public input on the issue, and that input will be presented to the Council during its August meeting in Biloxi, Mississippi.”
For more than a year, the Gulf Council wrestled with Amendment 28, the reallocation of Gulf Red Snapper. During its last meeting in Key West, it decided to postpone any vote on reallocation until the issue of sector separation was voted upon.
The Gulf recreational sector currently includes a private vessel component and a for-hire component. The for-hire component includes charter boats and head boats. Current recreational management measures such as season length, daily bag limits, and size limits are typically applied to the recreational sector as a whole, without making a distinction between the private and for-hire components.
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