October 2015 Council Meeting Preview

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will meet next week at the Hilton in Galveston, Texas.

You’re welcome to join us in person or watch a livebroadcast of the meeting. This agenda will help you figure out when the Council will be addressing the fisheries issues that interest you. Here are the background materials you’ll need to follow along.

Public comment will be held from 2:30 – 5:00 pm on Wednesday, October 7.  Here is a quick overview of some of the issues the Council plans to address:

Hint: The Council takes public comment at all times – not just during meetings. If we’re working on a fishery issue and you want to share your thoughts visit our “proposed amendments” page by clicking this thermometer icon from our homepage www.gulfcouncil.org. There you’ll find a variety of documents, guides, videos, and online comment forms for each Amendment.

Photo: Emily Muehlstein

Gag and Black Grouper

The Council expects to take final action on a framework action that considers changing the gag season and size limit and the black grouper size limit. Watch this video and share your opinion before a decision is made.

Red Snapper

The Council will review revised alternatives in Amendment 39: Regional Management – which considers dividing the recreational red snapper quota among different regions in the Gulf to allow for the creation of different management measures that best suit each area.  Public hearings will be hosted in the coming weeks at these dates and locations. We’ll post documents, guides, and videos to this page when they’re ready.

Hogfish

Photo: Emily Muehlstein

The West Florida hogfish stock, which is in the Gulf Council’s jurisdiction, is not overfished or experiencing overfishing. The stock associated with the Florida keys, which falls in both Gulf and South Atlantic Management areas, is both overfished and experiencing overfishing.  Next week, the Council will review a document that considers defining a management unit for hogfish between the two Councils and assigning a catch limit to the Gulf Council managed stock.

Mutton Snapper

The Council will review a framework action that considers setting and annual catch limit, bag limit, and commercial trip limits for mutton snapper.

South Florida Management

The Gulf Council, South Atlantic Council, and State of Florida have been working on a fisheries management plan that aims to streamline regulations in South Florida, particularly off of the Florida Keys.  The Council will review an options paper that considers modifying the management structure and some management measures for yellowtail snapper, mutton snapper, black grouper and shallow-water grouper, to make fishing regulations less complicated for commercial and recreational fishermen in the area.

Photo: iStock

Mackerel

The Council will review two public hearing drafts for amendments that consider making some changes to king and Spanish mackerel management. Amendment 26 considers making modifications to allocations, stock boundaries and sale provisions of king mackerel, and Amendment 28 considers separating permits for Gulf and Atlantic king and Spanish mackerel.

Photo: Emily Muehlstein

Shrimp

The Council will review a public hearing draft for Shrimp Amendment 17A - which considers what to do about the pending expiration of the federal shrimp permit moratorium. The Council expects to host public hearings on this amendment in January.

  

The Council will also review a draft options paper for Shrimp Amendment 17B – that considers establishing an optimum yield, target number of permits, permit pool, and addressing transit provisions through federal waters.

October 2014 Council Meeting Preview

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will meet next week in Mobile, Alabama to work on some issues that might be of interest to you. You’re welcome to join us at the meeting or you can listen live from your computer.

The Committee agenda and full Council agenda will help you figure out when the Council plans to discuss the topics that interest you.

We’ll be hosting public comment Wednesday, October 22^, from 2:30 pm – 7:30 pm, with a scheduled break between 5:00 pm and 5:30 pm.

Photo:  iStock

Some of the important issues that the Council plans to address during the meeting are described below.

Recreational Red Snapper Sector Separation

The Council is scheduled to review the most recent comments received and take final action on Reef Fish Amendment 40, which considers Recreational Red Snapper Sector Separation. Please watch this video tutorial on the amendment and send us your comments online before midnight, Tuesday, October 14.

Photo: NOAA

Recreational Red Grouper Seasons and Bag Limits

The Council plans to take final action on a Framework Action that considers adjusting bag limits and fixed closed seasons to avoid in-season quota closures like the one we’re currently experiencing. The framework also reconsiders the automatic bag limit reduction accountability measure that occurs after the Annual Catch Limit is exceeded.  The Council would like your input on the options that have been developed. Watch this video, read the amendment guide, join us on our webinar public hearing scheduled for the evening of Thursday, October 16, and/or send us your comments online.

Shrimp

Photo: Karen Hoak

The Council plans to take final action on two shrimp amendments:

·      Shrimp Amendment 15 – which considers revising the overfished/overfishing status of brown, white, and pink shrimp to ensure that they are consistent with the new model used to determine stock status.  Watch this video and send us your comments.
·      Shrimp Amendment 16 – which considers adjusting the annual catch limit and accountability measures for royal red shrimp. Watch this video and send us your comments.

The Council will also look at a scoping document for Shrimp Amendment 17 that considers what action to take regarding the pending expiration of the moratorium on federal shrimping permits.

Red Snapper Allocation

In June, the Council chose to defer action on Reef Fish Amendment 28 – which considers adjusting the allocation of red snapper between the commercial and recreational sectors, until after Amendment 40 – Sector Separation- is completed. The Council plans to revisit the red snapper allocation document during its meeting next week.  For more information, watch this video tutorial on the amendment.

Red Snapper Regional Management

The Council plans to resume discussions on Reef Fish Amendment 39 – Regional Management of Recreational Red Snapper, which considers dividing the federal recreational red snapper quota among states and giving them authority to set some of their own management measures. The Council postponed work on the document in February of this year pending progress on decisions regarding the allocation of quota among regions.

Photo: Scott Hickman

Greater Amberjack

This summer, the Councils scientific advisors reviewed a stock assessment and determined that greater amberjack is overfished, experiencing overfishing, and did not meet the 10-year rebuilding plan that ended in 2012.  As a result, the Council plans to review an options paper that considers adjusting the Annual Catch Limit and commercial and recreational management measures to ensure that the stock is rebuilt and the mandates of the Magnuson-Stevens Act are met.

Gag

Art by Diane Peebles

A stock assessment completed this summer discovered that the gag stock is not overfished or experiencing overfishing. The Council planned to increase the Acceptable Biological Catch from 2,820,000 pounds to 3,120,000 pounds this year. However, scientists are concerned that a large red tide event occurring this summer may negatively impact the stock. The Councils scientific advisors reviewed the assessment and recommended the Acceptable Biological Catch be increased for 2015 to a more conservative 3,070,000 pounds until the full effects of the red tide are understood.

Photo: Emily Muehlstein

Hogfish

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission completed a hogfish stock assessment using the federal SEDAR process. The assessment determined that there are three distinct hogfish stocks. The Gulf of Mexico stock is neither overfished or experiencing overfishing. The stock in the Florida Keys and along the east coast of Florida is overfished and experiencing overfishing, and the status of stock off the coast off Georgia and the Carolinas is experiencing overfishing and nearly overfished. The Council will hear a report on the assessment and decide what, if any, action to take. 

As always, if you have any questions don't hesitate to contact us. 

October 2013 Council Meeting Preview

Photo: Mark Miller

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will meet next week in New Orleans, Louisiana to work on some fishery issues that may interest you. You are welcome to attend the meeting in person or you can listen from your computer.

The committee agenda and full Council agenda will help you figure out when the Council plans to discuss the topics that you’re interested in.

Join us for public comment, which will be held on Wednesday, October 30^th from 1:30 – 4:30 pm. We also invite you to an informal question and answer session that will be held on Tuesday night immediately after Council adjourns for the day.

Read on for a brief description of some of the issues that Council will discuss next week:

Coastal Migratory Pelagics

Photo: Emily Muehlsten

The Council plans to take final action on two amendments that have been developed jointly with the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Amendment 20A (formerly Amendment 19) addresses the recreational sale of mackerel, elimination of inactive commercial king mackerel permits, and income requirements. Amendment 20B (formerly Amendment 20) addresses commercial trip limits, seasons, transit, and the annual catch limit for cobia. To learn more about these amendments visit this link for videos, amendment guides, and public comments.

Definition of For-Hire Fishing

The Council will review a draft framework action that considers clearly defining for-hire (charter/headboat) fishing trips. This framework aims to enhance enforcement of permit requirements by eliminating the ability of private vessels to exchange fees, goods, or service in exchange for for-hire fishing activities.  

Photo: Scott Hickman

Recreational Red Snapper Regional Management

The Council expects to take final action on Amendment 39, which considers dividing the federal recreational red snapper quota among different regions in the Gulf. This will give each region more flexibility to choose fishing regulations that best suit local needs. If you’re interested in learning more about regional management you can read this guide or watch this video.

Sector Separation

After tabling discussions a year ago, the Council will resume consideration of sub-dividing the recreational allocations into private, for-hire, and possibly headboat sectors. For more information on allocation and sector separation read this Gulf Currents Blog.

For-Hire Permit Conditions

Photo: Emily Muehlstein

Vessels with federal for-hire reef fish permits must comply with the more restrictive of state or federal reef fish regulations when fishing in state waters. The Council is considering revising this requirement to allow federally permitted for-hire vessels to fish during state seasons when state regulations are inconsistent with federal regulations.

As always, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact us.