The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will meet the first week in June at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Miramar Beach, Florida. The meeting will be held June 3 – June 6 in
the Bayside Ballroom. You’re welcome to join us in person or watch a live broadcast of the meeting.
Public comment will be held on Wednesday, June 5, from 2:00-5:30
p.m. If you can’t testify in person, visit our “Amendments Under Development”
webpage to learn about what we’re working on and submit your comments.
Immediately following the Council session on Monday June 3rd,
Manna Fish Farms will be conducting a stakeholder workshop on its Finfish
Aquaculture Operations in the Gulf.
Also, the U.S. Government Accountability Office is conducting a
study on allocation reviews for mixed use fisheries. They would like to meet
with fishery stakeholders to discuss mixed-use fisheries allocations and will
be conducting interviews Monday through Wednesday for those interested. A
signup sheet will be posted outside the Council meeting space. Please
direct any questions to FisheriesAllocations@gao.gov
The meeting agenda and meeting materials will help you prepare.
The following is a summary of some of the issues the Council plans to discuss:
Carryover of Unharvested Quota
The Council is expected to take final action on
an amendment that considers allowing uncaught annual catch limit to be carried
over and added to the next year’s harvest for reef fish and coastal migratory
pelagics. Quota available for carryover would have to be adjusted to account
for natural mortality and other factors such as management uncertainty.
Greater
Amberjack Commercial Trip Limits
The Council will
consider taking final action on a Framework amendment that considers reducing
the commercial trip limit for greater amberjack. This action is expected to
increase the length of the commercial fishing season for greater amberjack.
Modifications
to Commercial Individual Fishing Quota Programs
The Council will review a draft of Amendment 36B which considers
modifying the commercial individual fishing quota programs. The proposed
actions include requiring shareholders to have a federal permits, distributing
shares that have been reclaimed by NMFS, establishing a quota bank, and
requiring accuracy in the weight estimates provided in advance landings
notifications.
For-Hire
Red Snapper Annual Catch Target Buffer
The Council will work on a Framework Action that considers
reducing the buffer between the federal for-hire component annual catch limit
and annual catch target. A previous
framework action modified the buffer by reducing it from 20% to 9% for 2019
only. Reducing the buffer on a more permanent basis is expected to allow a
greater harvest while continuing to constrain landings to the for-hire
component annual catch limit.
Gray
Snapper
The Council will continue work on an amendment that considers the
criteria used to determine the overfishing and overfished status of gray
snapper, and the annual catch limits for the stock. The most recent gray
snapper stock assessment determined that gray snapper is experiencing
overfishing and may be overfished. The actions in the document will set values
that will be used to determine stock status for gray snapper and adjust the
annual catch limits.
Exempted
Fishing Permits
The Council will review an Exempted Fishing Permit Application
that would allow for a new bycatch reduction device to be tested in the shrimp
fishery.
