Robert Spaeth of the Southern Offshore Fishing Association and Glen Brooks of the Gulf Fisherman’s Association with the support of 11 additional fisheries organizations have written to to Dr. Jane Lubchenco, the Director of NOAA. The letter conveys the groups’ "shock and disappointment" regarding last week’s action by the NMFS’ Southeast Regional Office to close commercial longline fishing for reef fish in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The closure is for five months via emergency rule effective May 18, 2009.
The announced closure extends out to the 50-fathom contour; however, the longline fishery’s principal resource is red grouper, and this species along with other species in the “shallow water grouper” complex are scarce at greater depths. Once the limited quota for deeper-living reef-fish has been harvested, this will be a de facto total closure for most of the longline fleet.