The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meets at the end of this
month at the Astor Crowne Plaza in New Orleans, Louisiana. You’re welcome to
join us in person or watch a live broadcast of the meeting.
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| Photo: Mark Miller |
Public comment will be held on Wednesday, February 1 from 2:30 – 5:30
pm. If you can’t testify in person, visit our proposed amendments page to learn
about the different issue we’re working on and submit your comments. Comments
received by Tuesday, February 24 will be summarized and presented directly to
the Council as each issue is discussed during the meeting.
The meeting agenda and briefing materials will help you prepare. The
following is a quick summary of some of the topics the Council plans to
address:
Charter
Vessel and Headboat Reporting
The Council is expected to take final action on a
document that considers modifying the frequency and mechanism of data
reporting; trip notification and reporting requirements; and hardware/software
requirements and the potential for location tracking. The Council will review
the document and hear a summary of comments before deciding how to move
forward.
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| Photo: Allison Sparkman |
Mackerel
The Council is scheduled to
take final action on Coastal Migratory Pelagic Amendment 29 – Allocation
Sharing and Accountability Measures for King Mackerel. This proposed amendment
considers allocation sharing strategies and accountability measures that would
allow the commercial sector to harvest uncaught recreational allocation. The
Council will hear a summary of public comments received during public hearings
before making final decisions on the proposed changes.
Click here to view the full document
Click here to view the full document
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| Photo: iStock |
Shrimp
The Council will review and public hearing draft of Shrimp Amendment 17B which considers setting harvest benchmarks, setting a target number of permits, creating a permit pool, and allowing transit through federal waters. The Council has scheduled a series of public hearings that will be held across the Gulf Coast in February.
The Council will review and public hearing draft of Shrimp Amendment 17B which considers setting harvest benchmarks, setting a target number of permits, creating a permit pool, and allowing transit through federal waters. The Council has scheduled a series of public hearings that will be held across the Gulf Coast in February.
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| Photo: Emily Muehlstein |
The Council will review a
public hearing draft of Reef Fish Amendment 36a which considers making
modifications to the commercial IFQ program. After performing 5-year reviews of
the red snapper and grouper/tilefish programs the Council is considering
modifying hail-in requirements for commercially permitted reef fish vessels;
returning and redistributing inactivated IFQ shares; retaining allocation
before a quota reduction; and dealer notification requirements before
offloading IFQ species. The Council plans to host a webinar public hearing and
send a direct mailing to commercial reef fish holders to gather comments before
taking action on this document.
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| Photo: John Garland |
Triggerfish
The Council plans to review a public hearing draft of Reef Fish Amendment 46 – Gray Triggerfish Rebuilding Plan. A recent stock assessment indicated that the gray triggerfish stock continues to be overfished and the Council’s scientific advisors revised the acceptable biological catch levels. Along with determining new catch levels for the stock, the Council will consider changes to the recreational bag limits, size limits, and closed season; and commercial closed season and trip limit. The Council has scheduled a series of public hearings that will be held across the Gulf Coast in March.
Click here to submit commentsThe Council plans to review a public hearing draft of Reef Fish Amendment 46 – Gray Triggerfish Rebuilding Plan. A recent stock assessment indicated that the gray triggerfish stock continues to be overfished and the Council’s scientific advisors revised the acceptable biological catch levels. Along with determining new catch levels for the stock, the Council will consider changes to the recreational bag limits, size limits, and closed season; and commercial closed season and trip limit. The Council has scheduled a series of public hearings that will be held across the Gulf Coast in March.
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| Photo: Alex Bender and Allison Sparkman |
Mutton Snapper and Gag
The Council plans to review
a Framework Action that considers modifying mutton snapper annual catch limit,
minimum size limit, recreational bag limit, and commercial trip limit. The Framework
Action also considers increasing the commercial gag minimum size limit.
Click here to view the full document
As always, don't hesitate to contact us directly with any questions or comments: www.gulfcouncil.org
