Saving Seafood

Reminder: The Gulf of Mexico Gray Triggerfish Recreational Season Reopens August 1, 2021

July 30, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Key Message:

NOAA Fisheries reminds anglers that the Gulf of Mexico gray triggerfish recreational season reopens August 1, 2021.  The gray triggerfish fishing year is from January 1 – December 31 with two recreational seasonal closures of January 1 – end of February and June 1 – July 31.  NOAA Fisheries will monitor recreational landings.  If landings reach or are projected to reach the annual catch target, NOAA Fisheries will close recreational fishing for gray triggerfish for the remainder of the fishing year.

Read the full release here

Final Rule Increases Gray Triggerfish Catch Limits in the Gulf of Mexico

June 29, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Key Message:

NOAA Fisheries announces a final rule for gray triggerfish in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf). This rule increases the gray triggerfish catch limits for the commercial and recreational sectors.

When Rule Will Take Effect:

  • Regulations will be effective July 29, 2021.

What This Means:

  • The gray triggerfish total catch limit will be 456,900 pounds (lbs) whole weight (ww).
  • The gray triggerfish sector allocation of 79% recreational and 21% commercial is retained.
  • The recreational annual catch limit will be 360,951 lbs ww and the commercial annual catch limit will be 95,949 lbs ww.
  • The recreational annual catch target will be 274,323 lbs ww and the commercial annual catch target will be 88,273 lbs ww.

Formal Federal Register Name/Number:  86 FR 34159, published June 29, 2021

This bulletin serves as a Small Entity Compliance Guide, complying with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.

Request for Comments: Proposed Rule to Increase the Gray Triggerfish Catch Limits in the Gulf of Mexico

April 21, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Key Message:

NOAA Fisheries requests your comments on a proposed rule for gray triggerfish in the Gulf of Mexico.  Comments are due by May 21, 2021.

Summary of Proposed Changes:

  • The proposed rule increases the gray triggerfish catch limits by 151,600 lbs whole weight (ww) going from 305,300 lbs ww to 456,900 lbs ww.
  • This proposed rule retains the current sector allocation of 79% recreational and 21% commercial.
  • The recreational annual catch limit would increase to 360,951 lbs ww and the commercial annual catch limit would increase to 95,949 lbs ww.
  • This proposed rule would increase the buffers between the sector annual catch limits and annual catch targets to 24% for the recreational sector and 8% for the commercial sector.
  • The resulting annual catch targets would increase to 274,323 lbs ww for the recreational sector and 88,273 lbs ww for the commercial sector.

How to Comment on the Proposed Rule:

The comment period is open now through May 21, 2021.  You may submit comments by electronic submission or by postal mail.  Comments sent by any other method (such as e-mail), to any other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered by NOAA Fisheries.

FORMAL FEDERAL REGISTER NAME/NUMBER: 86 FR 20649, published April 21, 2021

Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.

  1. Go to https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2021-0030.
  2. Click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields.
  3. Enter or attach your comments.

Mail: Submit written comments to Kelli O’Donnell, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701

Commercial Closure for Gray Triggerfish in South Atlantic Federal Waters on November 29, 2020

November 24, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

WHAT/WHEN:

The commercial harvest of gray triggerfish in South Atlantic federal waters will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on November 29, 2020.  During the commercial closure, harvest or possession of gray triggerfish in or from federal waters is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits when the recreational sector is open.

WHY THIS CLOSURE IS HAPPENING:

  • The 2020 July through December commercial catch limit is 156,162 pounds whole weight. The unused portion of the catch limit from the January through June season is added to the July through December catch season.  The new catch limit is used to project trip limit reductions and closures.  Commercial landings are projected to reach the July through December commercial catch limit.  According to the accountability measure, harvest must close to prevent the catch limit from being exceeded.

AFTER THE CLOSURE:

  • The closure applies in both state and federal waters for vessels that have a federal commercial permit for South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper.
  • The prohibition on sale or purchase during a closure for gray triggerfish does not apply to fish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, on November 29, 2020, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.
  • The commercial gray triggerfish 2020 fishing season in the South Atlantic will open on January 1, 2021, with a catch limit of 156,162 pounds whole weight.

This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations.  Full regulations can be found in the Federal Register or at https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=383bc195ccbeab4fd6bec1c24905df34&node=sp50.12.622.i&rgn=div6#se50.12.622_1190.

Study finds some sport fish are caught repeatedly – which could throw off population estimates

November 18, 2020 — A new study reports that, for several species of oceanic sport fish, individual fish that are caught, released and recaught are more likely to be caught again than scientists anticipated. The findings raise some interesting questions for policy makers tasked with preserving sustainable fisheries.

The study makes use of data from tagging programs, in which researchers tag  and release them into the wild. When those fish are caught, and the tag information is returned to the researchers, it can give scientists information that informs fishery policies.

“Fisheries researchers who work in tagging programs have long noticed that certain fish seem to get caught repeatedly, and we set out to determine the implications of this phenomenon,” says Jeff Buckel, co-author of the study and a professor of applied ecology at North Carolina State University.

To that end, researchers examined decades’ worth of Atlantic coast tagging datasets on four : black sea bass (Centropristis striata), gray triggerfish (Balistes capriscus), red grouper (Epinephelus morio), and Warsaw grouper (Hyporthodus nigritus). Using a computational model, the researchers determined that—for the black sea bass and both types of grouper—survival was significantly higher after the second, third, and fourth release as compared to the first release.

“Think of it this way,” says Brendan Runde, first author of the study and a Ph.D. student at NC State. “Let’s say you tagged 1,000 fish and recaptured 100 of them for a first time. After re-releasing those 100 fish, you would only expect to recapture 10 of them a second time. But that’s not what we’re seeing. We’re seeing much higher numbers of fish getting recaptured after the second time.

Read the full story at PHYS.org

Recreational Harvest of Gray Triggerfish in Federal Waters of the Gulf of Mexico Will Reopen September 1, 2020, and Close on October 26, 2020

August 31, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

WHAT/WHEN/WHERE:

  • Recreational harvest of gray triggerfish in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) will reopen at 12:01 am, local time, on September 1, 2020, and close at 12:01 am, local time, on October 26, 2020.
  • Recreational harvest will reopen in the Gulf for the 2021 fishing season at 12:01 am, local time, on March 1, 2021, when the January-February seasonal closure ends.
  • NOAA Fisheries will publish a closure notice when the annual catch target is reached or projected to be reached.

WHY THIS REOPENING IS HAPPENING:

  • The 2020 recreational annual catch target is 217,100 pounds whole weight.  Projections indicated that recreational landings of gray triggerfish were expected to meet the annual catch target as of May 2, 2020, and recreational harvest was subsequently closed.
  • Updated landings information for 2020 indicate the annual catch target has not been met.
  • This opening will allow the recreational annual catch target to be caught, while minimizing the risk of it being exceeded.

Commercial Closure for Gray Triggerfish in South Atlantic Federal Waters on October 27, 2019

October 23, 2019 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

WHAT/WHEN

The commercial harvest of gray triggerfish in South Atlantic federal waters will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on October 27, 2019. During the commercial closure, harvest or possession of gray triggerfish in or from federal waters is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits when the recreational sector is open.

WHY THIS CLOSURE IS HAPPENING:

The 2019 July through December commercial catch limit is 156,162 pounds whole weight. Commercial landings are projected to reach the July through December commercial catch limit. According to the accountability measure, harvest must close to prevent the catch limit from being exceeded.

AFTER THE CLOSURE:

The closure applies in both state and federal waters for vessels that have a federal commercial permit for South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper.

The prohibition on sale or purchase during a closure for gray triggerfish does not apply to fish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, on October 27, 2019, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.

The commercial gray triggerfish 2020 fishing season in the South Atlantic will open on January 1, 2020, with a catch limit of 156,162 pounds whole weight.

This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations. Full regulations can be found in the Federal Register or at: https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=383bc195ccbeab4fd6bec1c24905df34&node=sp50.12.622.i&rgn=div6#se50.12.622_1190.

Triggerfish and amberjack seasons cut short by feds

March 25, 2019 — Better hurry if you want to catch a triggerfish in the Gulf of Mexico.

And get ready to wait a long time before you can put an amberjack in the icebox.

The recreational season for gray triggerfish will close on May 11, and will not reopen again until March of 2020. The 2019 season is just 72 days, instead of the usual 173 days. It is possible, depending on federal estimates of the 2019 harvest, that triggerfish could remain closed even longer.

Greater amberjack season, meanwhile, which would normally reopen on May 1 will remain closed until August. That’s because federal officials estimated that fishermen caught the entire annual quota of amberjack for the last year during August, September and October of 2018.

Read the full story at AL.com

Commercial Closure for Gray Triggerfish in South Atlantic Federal Waters on November 6, 2018

November 2, 2018 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

WHAT/WHEN:
  • The commercial harvest of gray triggerfish in South Atlantic federal waters will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on November 6, 2018, andwill open on January 1, 2019, for the 2019 January through June fishing season. During the commercial closure, harvest or possession of gray triggerfish in or from federal waters is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits when the recreational sector is open.
WHY THIS CLOSURE IS HAPPENING:
  • The 2018 July-December commercial catch limit is 156,162 pounds whole weight. Commercial landings are projected to reach the 2018 July-December commercial catch limit on November 6, 2018.  According to the accountability measure, harvest must close to prevent the catch limit from being exceeded.
AFTER THE CLOSURE:
  • The closure and prohibition on sale applies in both state and federal waters for vessels that have a federal commercial permit for South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper.
  • The prohibition on sale or purchase during a closure for gray triggerfish does not apply to fish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, on November 6, 2018,and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.
This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations. Full regulations can be found in the Federal Register or at https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=383bc195ccbeab4fd6bec1c24905df34&node=sp50.12.622.i&rgn=div6#se50.12.622_1190.

Commercial Closure for Gray Triggerfish in South Atlantic Federal Waters on June 13, 2018

June 11, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA:

WHAT/WHEN:

The commercial harvest of gray triggerfish in South Atlantic federal waters will close at 12:01 A.M., LOCAL TIME, ON JUNE 13, 2018. During the commercial closure, harvest or possession of gray triggerfish in or from federal waters is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits when the recreational sector is open.

WHY THIS CLOSURE IS HAPPENING:

* The 2018 January through June commercial catch limit is 156,162 pounds whole weight. Commercial landings are projected to reach the January through June commercial catch limit on JUNE 13, 2018. According to the accountability measure, harvest must close to prevent the catch limit from being exceeded.

AFTER THE CLOSURE:

* The closure applies in both state and federal waters for vessels that have a federal commercial permit for South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper.

* The prohibition on sale or purchase during a closure for gray triggerfish does not apply to fish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 A.M., LOCAL TIME, ON JUNE 13, 2018, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.

* The commercial gray triggerfish July through December fishing season in the South Atlantic will open on July 1, 2018, with a catch limit of 156,162 pounds whole weight.

This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations. Full regulations can be found in the Federal Register.