December 4, 2014 — The following was released by the Gulf Seafood Institute:
Congressional leaders called upon two Gulf Seafood Institute (GSI) board members to testify on The Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper Conservation Act of 2013. Florida’s Bob Gill and Louisiana’s Harlon Pearce represented the interests of Gulf of Mexico fishermen before the House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs in the ongoing saga of red snapper management.
The subcommittee, chaired by Representative John Fleming of Louisiana, heard testimony on the challenges resulting from the current recreational red snapper management structure and whether the proposed management changes in H.R. 3099 are the correct approach to solving a complex management struggle.
Pearce and Gill joined panel members David Cresson, the executive director of the Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana, and Captain Jim Green, vice-president of the Destin Charter Boat Association, on the four member panel.
Commercial Red Snapper Management Works
“It is very important to understand that the current red snapper program on the harvest side is working,” Gill told the Congressional hearing. “The species is no longer undergoing overfishing and is now being managed under a rebuilding plan which will allow the species to rebuild back to target population levels.”
According to the Gill, a former member of the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council, the commercial red snapper Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) program, which began in 2007, has reduced the number of vessels and improved the operation of this fishery. The IFQ program now provides the harvesting sector with flexibility to fish during times that suit their needs and the needs of the market resulting in less pressure on the fishery, less pressure on the resource and a consistent supply of red snapper to meet consumer demand.
Read the full story at the Gulf Seafood Institute