New Regulations Protect Deep-Water Corals

Coral reefs are among the most diverse ecosystems on earth. Healthy coral reef ecosystems support fisheries and recreational activities across the world. Deep-water coral reefs found in light-limited environments deeper than 164 feet (27 fathoms) are different from the typical shallow coral reefs you might be familiar with. They can live to be hundreds, if not thousands, of years old and provide important habitat to many fishes and invertebrates in a part of the ocean that is cold, dark, and low in oxygen. 

This week, new regulations go in place to protect some of the most precious deep-water corals in the Gulf of Mexico. Coral Amendment 9 established 13 new habitat areas of particular concern with fishing regulations and designated 8 new habitat areas of particular concern without fishing regulations. The particular areas protected by Coral Amendment 9 were chosen because they serve an important ecological function, are sensitive to human induced degradation, the habitat is stressed, or they’re rare. 

You’re probably wondering how these new coral protections might affect you. Most of the areas are extremely deep and fishing activity is sparse, so it shouldn’t impact most fishermen too much, although bottom anchoring by any fishing vessel is prohibited in the areas. The regulations only limit the deployment of bottom-tending gear, including bottom longline, bottom trawl, buoy gear, dredge, pot, or trap, so this almost exclusively limits commercial fishing activity. 

If you’re interested in exploring the new areas, this map will show you the locations of these new protected areas. Additionally, the new areas with regulations can be found on the Management Areas tab of our Federal Fishing Regulations. 

As always, don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns regarding these new coral protections. 

October Council Meeting Preview

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will meet by webinar October 26-29, 2020. The Committee and Council Agendas, and meeting material are available on the Council Meeting Webpage.You will be able to join the webinar at this link during the meeting. 

Public testimony will be held on Wednesday, October 28, 2020 from 1:00 – 3:30 PM EDT. Details on how to successfully join the meeting and provide testimony can be found here.

Additionally, the Gulf Council and NOAA Fisheries will host a question and answer session with the public beginning at 4:30 PM, EDT on Tuesday, October 27, 2020. Details on how to join that session can be found here. 

The following is a brief summary of what till be discussed during the meeting:

Recommendations on Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth
The President of the United States recently signed an Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth. The Executive Order aims to improve the competitiveness of our domestic seafood industry, put more Americans to work, and place more sustainably sourced and safe-to-eat seafood products on our families’ tables. Section 4 of the Executive Order, Removing Barriers to American Fishing, requires the Regional Fishery Management Councils to submit a prioritized list of recommended actions to reduce burdens on domestic fishing and to increase production within sustainable fisheries. The Council will is expected finalize a prioritized list of regulations for removal.

State Recreational Red Snapper Catch Limits
The Council recently delegated some management authority to the Gulf states to set the private angling red snapper fishing season, bag limit, and minimum size limit. NOAA Fisheries has been using the federal Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) in concert with landings and effort data collected from Gulf state data collection programs to monitor private recreational red snapper seasons. The Council will take its first look at a draft document that considers adjusting the individual state red snapper catch limits to account for the harvest monitoring programs used by each state. 

Red Grouper Catch Limits and Sector Allocations
The Council will continue working on Reef Fish Amendment 53 which considers modifying red grouper commercial and recreational sector allocations and catch limits based on the results of the latest stock assessment (SEDAR 61).  The assessment showed that the red grouper stock is lower than it has ever been.  Additionally, the assessment used the new Marine Recreational Information Program’s (MRIP) calibrated Fishing Effort Survey landings and effort estimates, which increased the estimates of recreational harvest.

Lane Snapper
The most recent update assessment of lane snapper uses the new calibrated landings and effort data from the Marine Recreational Information Program Fishing Effort Survey and allows for a significant increase in the acceptable biological catch level.  The Council will continue to work on a document to revise the lane snapper annual catch limits.

Gray Triggerfish
The Council will be presented will a summary of an interim analysis of the gray triggerfish stock that uses video surveys to estimate abundance. The analysis shows that the triggerfish stock has been increasing, especially in the eastern Gulf, and that catch limits can be increased. The Councils Scientific and Statistical Committee recommended increasing the gray triggerfish acceptable biological catch limit to 456,900 pounds. The current gray triggerfish annual catch limit is 305,300 pounds so, the Council will consider initiating work on a document to adjust the catch limit to reflect the increase. 

Commercial Individual Fishing Quota Programs
At this meeting, the Council will continue to review a public hearing draft of amendment 36B which considers requiring individual fishing quota shareholder accounts to be associated with a commercial reef fish permit.

King Mackerel
The Council will be presented with results of an update stock assessment for king mackerel. The update assessment determined that king mackerel is not overfished and is not experiencing overfishing. It also suggests maintaining current catch levels because the king mackerel stock seems to be responding well to current management practices. The Council will also hear a summary of public input on the health of the stock that it received through its Something’s Fishy with King Mackerel tool. The Council will review overfishing limit and acceptable biological catch recommendations from its Scientific and Statistical Committee and may consider initiating a document to adjust current king mackerel annual catch levels. 

Cobia
The Council recently reviewed results of and update stock assessment for Cobia. The assessment showed that cobia is not overfished but is currently experiencing overfishing. The assessment used the new Marine Recreational Information Program’s recreational landings and effort estimates which increased the estimates of recreational harvest and consequently, increased the estimate of total biomass. The Councils Scientific and Statistical Committee provided overfishing limit and acceptable biological catch recommendations for 2021-2023 and beyond.  As a result, the assessment projections appear to allow for increased harvest but actually represent an approximate 30% reduction from the current allowable harvest. The Council is obligated to end overfishing and consider updating cobia annual catch limits. The Council will take a first look at an amendment that considers modifying cobia catch limits and management measures including bag limits, vessel limits, and size limits. 

September Council Meeting Preview

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will meet by webinar September 28-30, 2020. This meeting is being held to replace the regularly scheduled August Council meeting which was cancelled because two hurricanes developed in the Gulf of Mexico. 

The Committee and Council Agendas, and meeting materials are available on the Council Meeting Webpage. You will be able to join the webinar at this link during the meeting. Public testimony will be held on Wednesday, September 30 beginning at 9:30 AM EDT. Details on how to successfully join the meeting and provide public testimony can be found here. 

Additionally, the Gulf Council and NOAA Fisheries will host a Question and Answer Session with the public beginning at 4:30PM, EDT on Tuesday, September 29, 2020. Details on how to join that session can be found here.

The following is a brief summary of some of the issues that will be discussed next week:

Red Drum and Coastal Migratory Pelagic Advisory Panel Member Selection

The Council will make final appointments to its Red Drum and Coastal Migratory Pelagic Advisory Panels. Advisory Panel members are appointed for a 3-year term.

Impacts of COVID-19

The Council plans to continue discussing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and may consider management changes to ease those impacts. The Council will continue to follow guidelines set by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act while considering temporary or long-term changes to regulations that may offset economic impacts from the pandemic.

Recommendations on Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth

The President of the United States recently signed an Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth. The Executive Order aims to improve the competitiveness of our domestic seafood industry, put more Americans to work, and place more sustainably sourced and safe-to-eat seafood products on our families’ tables. Section 4 of the Executive Order, Removing Barriers to American Fishing, requires the Regional Fishery Management Councils to submit a prioritized list of recommended actions to reduce burdens on domestic fishing and to increase production within sustainable fisheries. The Council will review public input and is expected to provide a prioritized list of regulations for removal.

Status Determination Criteria 

The Council must define a maximum sustainable yield (MSY), a maximum fishing mortality threshold (MFMT), a minimum stock size threshold (MSST), and an optimum yield (OY) for all managed stocks. These reference points are the basis for determining the health of each stock and are required under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and National Standard 1 guidelines. The Council will work on a public hearing draft of Reef Fish Amendment 48/Red Drum Amendment 5, which aims to define, and in some cases modify, existing status determination criteria for reef fish and red drum.

 

State and Federal Recreational Data Collection Calibrations

The Council will discuss calibration efforts involving recreational data collection programs. First, it will consider the Federal Marine Recreational Information Program’s (MRIP) transition to a new survey methodology, the Fishing Effort Survey (FES), and the resulting recreational data calibrations.  The Council will also hear a summary of the recent Red Snapper MRIP and State Data Calibration Webinar.  The Council will hear recommendations about how state survey data may be used in federal stock assessments and it will hear recommendations from its Scientific and Statistical Committee about how to calibrate results from each of the different surveys so they can be used in science and management.

Cobia

The Council will receive the results of the most recent Cobia stock assessment update. The update, which incorporates new recreational catch information from the MRIP Fishing Effort Survey, shows that Cobia is not overfished but is currently experiencing overfishing.  The Council will review its Scientific and Statistical Committees Overfishing Limit and Acceptable biological Catch recommendations and may initiate an amendment to adjust the current cobia catch thresholds.

August Council Meeting Preview

 

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will meet by webinar August 24-28, 2020. The Committee and Council Agendas, and meeting material are available on the Council Meeting Webpage.

 

You will be able to join the webinar at this link during the meeting. Public testimony will be held on Thursday beginning at 1:20 PM EDT. Details on how to successfully join the meeting and

provide testimony can be found here.

 

Additionally, the Gulf Council and NOAA Fisheries will host a Question and Answer Session with the public beginning at 4:30 PM, EDT on Wednesday, August 26, 2020. Details on how to join that session can be found here.

 

The Council will hear presentations on a number of interesting topics including: Shrimp logbooks, commercial logbooks, the Southeast For-Hire Electronic Reporting Program, and depredation by marine mammals. The following is a brief summary of some of the issues that will be discussed next week:

 

Red Drum and Coastal Migratory Pelagic Advisory Panel Member Selection

The Council will make final appointments to its Red Drum and Coastal Migratory Pelagic Advisory Panels. Advisory Panel members are appointed for a 3-year term.

 

Impacts of COVID-19

The Council plans to continue discussing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and may consider management changes to ease those impacts. The Council will continue to follow guidelines set by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act while considering temporary or long-term changes to regulations that may offset economic impacts from the pandemic.

 

Recommendations on Executive Order 13921

The President of the United States recently signed an Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth. The Executive Order aims to improve the competitiveness of our domestic seafood industry, put more Americans to work, and place more sustainably sourced and safe-to-eat seafood products on our families’ tables. Section 4 of the Executive Order, Removing Barriers to American Fishing, requires the Regional Fishery Management Councils to submit a prioritized list of recommended actions to reduce burdens on domestic fishing and to increase production within sustainable fisheries. The Council will review public input and is expected to provide a prioritized list of regulations for removal.

 

Status Determination Criteria 

The Council must define a maximum sustainable yield (MSY), a maximum fishing mortality threshold (MFMT), a minimum stock size threshold (MSST), and an optimum yield (OY) for all managed stocks. These reference points are the basis for determining the health of each stock and are required under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and National Standard 1 guidelines. The Council will work on a public hearing draft of Reef Fish Amendment 48/Red Drum Amendment 5, which aims to define, and in some cases modify, existing status determination criteria for reef fish and red drum.

 

State and Federal Recreational Data Collection Calibrations

The Council will discuss  calibration efforts involving recreational data collection programs. First, it will consider the Federal Marine Recreational Information Program’s (MRIP) transition to a new survey methodology, the Fishing Effort Survey (FES), and the resulting recreational data calibrations.  The Council will also hear a summary of the recent Red Snapper MRIP and State Data Calibration Webinar.  The Council will hear recommendations about how state survey data may be used in federal stock assessments and it will hear recommendations from its Scientific and Statistical Committee about how to calibrate results from each of the different surveys so they can be used in science and management.

 

Photo: FWC

Red Grouper Catch Limits and Sector Allocations

The Council will continue working on Reef Fish Amendment 53 which considers modifying red grouper commercial and recreational sector allocations and catch limits based on the results of the latest stock assessment (SEDAR 61).  The assessment showed that the red grouper stock is lower than it has ever been.  Additionally, the assessment used the new Marine Recreational Information Program’s (MRIP) calibrated Fishing Effort Survey landings and effort estimates, which increased the estimates of recreational harvest.

 

Commercial Individual Fishing Quota Programs

At this meeting, the Council will review a public hearing draft of amendment 36B which considers requiring individual fishing quota shareholder accounts to be associated with a commercial reef fish permit.

 

Lane Snapper

The most recent update assessment of lane snapper uses the new calibrated landings and effort data from the Marine Recreational Information Program Fishing Effort Survey and allows for a significant increase in the acceptable biological catch level.  The Council will review guidance

Photo: Hubbard's Marina

from its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and work on a document to revise the lane snapper annual catch limits.

 

Yellowtail Snapper

The Council will hear a summary of the most recent yellowtail snapper stock assessment (SEDAR 64). The assessment was conducted for the entire Southeast which includes Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Council jurisdictions. Yellowtail is not experiencing overfishing and is not overfished. The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee plans to discuss appropriate methods for determining the Overfishing Limit and Acceptable Biological Catch levels for the yellowtail stock at a meeting in late September. The Council will consider updating the yellowtail snapper acceptable biological catch limits after it hears Overfishing Limit and Biological Catch recommendations from its Scientific and Statistical Committee.

 

Cobia

The Council will receive the results of the most recent Cobia stock assessment update. The update, which incorporates new recreational catch information from the MRIP Fishing Effort

Photo: Rosemary White

Survey, shows that Cobia is not overfished but is currently experiencing overfishing.  The Council will review its Scientific and Statistical Committees Overfishing Limit and Acceptable biological Catch recommendations and may initiate an amendment to adjust the current cobia catch thresholds.

June Council Meeting Preview

June Council Meeting Preview

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will meet June 15-18, 2020 by webinar. The Committee and Council Agendas, and meeting materials will be posted as they become available on the Council Meeting’s webpage. Information on how to register for the webinar will also be posted as it becomes available.

Public testimony will be held during the meeting. Details on how to provide testimony during the meeting will be posted on the Council Meeting’s webpage when it becomes available.

Fishing Access in Madison-Swanson and Steamboat Lumps Marine Protected Areas

The Council plans to take final action on a document that considers modifying trolling provisions and possession prohibitions in Madison-Swanson and Steamboat Lumps Marine Protected Areas. Fishing activity is limited in Steamboat Lumps and Madison-Swanson to protect gag grouper spawning aggregations.  Currently, no bottom fishing is allowed in those areas, but surface trolling is permitted during part of the year.  It is difficult to enforce the no-bottom-fishing regulation when surface trolling is allowed, and the Council heard concerns that illegal recreational bottom fishing is occurring in the areas.

·      Read the Draft Amendment

·      Watch the Public Hearing Video

·      Submit Comments

Impacts of COVID-19

The Council plans to discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and may consider management changes to ease those impacts. The Council aims to gather input from fishermen and those involved in fishing-related businesses whose fishing effort or businesses have been directly affected by COVID-19. The Council will continue to follow guidelines set by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act while considering temporary or long-term changes to regulations that may offset economic impacts from the pandemic.

·      Fishing Related Covid-19 Resources

·      Share information on how COVID-19 has impacted your fishing and business using this COVID-19 Comment Tool

Red Drum and Coastal Migratory Pelagic Advisory Panel Member Selection

During closed session, the Council will review applicants and populate its Coastal Migratory Pelagic and Red Drum Advisory Panels. A background check will be performed on selected applicants and membership to both panels will be announced at the August Council meeting.

Vermilion Snapper

The Council will review SEDAR 67: Vermilion Snapper stock assessment which concluded that vermilion is neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing. The Council will hear recommendations from its Scientific and Statistical Committee and may consider initiating an amendment to update vermilion snapper management.

Red Grouper

The Council will continue working on Reef Fish Amendment 53 which considers modifying red grouper commercial and recreational sector allocations and catch limits based on the results of the latest stock assessment (SEDAR 61).  The assessment showed that the red grouper stock is lower than it has ever been.  Additionally, the assessment used the new Marine Recreational Information Program’s (MRIP) calibrated Fishing Effort Survey landings and effort estimates, which increased the estimates of recreational harvest.

Lane Snapper

At its last meeting, the Council was presented with the results of updated yield projections for lane snapper (based on SEDAR 49).  The assessment uses the new calibrated landings and effort data from the Marine Recreational Information Program Fishing Effort Survey and allows for a significant increase in the acceptable biological catch level.  The Council will review guidance from its Scientific and Statistical Committee and work on a document to revise the lane snapper annual catch limits.

January Council Meeting Preview

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will meet at the Hyatt Centric French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana, January 27-30, 2020. You’re more than welcome to join us in person or via webinar.

Public comment will be held on Wednesday, January 29^th, from 1:45 – 5:30 PM. If you can’t join us to comment, visit our “Amendments Under Development” webpage to learn more about what we’re working on and submit comments.

The Agenda and Meeting Materials will help you prepare for the meeting. The following is a brief summary of some of the issues that will be discussed:

Photo: Capt. Jennings

Greater Amberjack

The Council is trying to figure out the best way to manage recreational greater amberjack. In 2018, the Council modified the recreational amberjack fishing year so that the quota renews on August 1^st. That was supposed to allow for fishing seasons August – October and then May in the following calendar year, if there was any quota left. Unfortunately, the entire quota was harvested in the fall season that year so, we didn’t get a May season in 2019. (Note: We still don’t know if we’ll have a May season this year and expect NOAA fisheries to give us that news as soon as they can process the harvest data from the end of last year).

The Council is still looking for ways to allow recreational harvest in both fall and spring since different anglers from different parts of the Gulf prefer to fish amberjack at different times. We will discuss a document that considers managing recreational greater amberjack with different zones and bag limits. This Recreational Greater Amberjack Decision Tool will allow you to explore some of the different management alternatives that are currently being considered.

Photo: Capt. Hubbard

Red Grouper

A recent red grouper stock assessment (SEDAR 61) determined that the red grouper stock is smaller than it has ever been. Additionally, the assessment used the new Marine Recreational Information Program’s landings and effort estimates, which more than doubled the estimates of recreational harvest.

The Council will begin working on Reef Fish Amendment 53 which considers modifying commercial and recreational sector allocations and catch limits based on the results of the latest assessment.

Fishing Access in Eastern Gulf Marine Protected Areas

The Council’s Reef Fish Advisory Panel expressed concern that illegal recreational bottom fishing is occurring in Steamboat Lumps and Madison Swanson Marine Protected Areas. Regulations in those areas were created to protect grouper spawning aggregations. Currently, no bottom fishing is allowed in the areas, but trolling is permitted during part of the year. It is difficult to enforce the no-bottom-fishing regulation when trolling is allowed. So, in an effort to ensure grouper spawning aggregations are protected as intended, the Council will take its first look at a framework action that is considers prohibiting all fishing in the Steamboat Lumps and Madison Swanson Protected Areas.

Status Determination Criteria

The Council must define a maximum sustainable yield, a maximum fishing mortality threshold, a minimum stock size threshold, and an optimum yield for all managed stocks. These reference points are the basis for determining the health of each stock and are required under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and National Standard 1 guidelines. The Council will work on a public hearing draft of Reef Fish Amendment 48/Red Drum Amendment 5, which aims to define, and in some cases modify, existing status determination criteria for reef fish and red drum.

Red Snapper Allocation

The Council will continue work on Reef Fish Amendment 52 which considers reallocating the red snapper annual catch limit between recreational and commercial sectors. The Council previously passed Amendment 28, which reallocated red snapper by shifting 2.5% of the commercial sector’s allocation to the recreational sector. However, a lawsuit resulted in the district court decision which vacated Amendment 28 and restored the previous sector allocations of 49% recreational and 51% commercial.

Commercial Individual Fishing Quota Programs

At its last meeting, the Council decided to split Amendment 36B into two separate documents. At this meeting, it will review a new version of 36B which considers requiring individual fishing quota shareholder accounts to be associated with a commercial reef fish permit. The Council will also take its first look at Amendment 36C which considers a mechanism for distributing unused shares reclaimed by NOAA Fisheries, quota banks, and modifying the accuracy of estimated weights in advance landings notifications.