The Dolphin Talk regrets publishing the previous article posted Sept. 8 entitled “Red Snapper Quota Increase”.
The text was copied directly from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce Federal Register, Volume 76, No. 156, August 12, 2011.
It has been brought to my attention, that the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council issued the following report on August 21, 2011, which seems to contradict the earlier report.
I sincerely regret printing the previous article and hope that it causes no detriment to any fisherman who read it.
In the interest of our fishermen/readers well being, I will no longer publish releases concerning new fishing regulations unless they come from an official local source.
-Joyce Rhyne, Editor, Dolphin Talk
Following is the release from the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council:
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council
Managing Fishery Resources in the U.S. Federal Waters of the Gulf of Mexico
2203 N. Lois Avenue, Suite 1100
Tampa, Florida 33607 USA
Phone: 813.348.1630 • Toll free: 888.833.1844 • Fax: 813.348.1711
www.gulfcouncil.org
For Immediate Release Contact: Charlene Ponce
August 21, 2011
813-348-1630
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council Receives Information on 2011 Recreational Red Snapper Landings
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council this week received a report from NOAA Fisheries Service on the 2011 recreational red snapper landings data. Estimates show that the total landings will likely exceed
the recreational red snapper quota. This includes the 345,000 pounds that was added to the recreational quota through an emergency rule. So far the preliminary data, which does not include July landings data or
data from Texas, show that at least 80% of the quota has been caught. NOAA Fisheries predicts that landings will exceed the quota by 10% – 20% once the Texas data and the July landings data are added to
the landings estimates.
What does this mean?
In June, the Council requested NOAA Fisheries implement an emergency rule that would increase the recreational red snapper quota by 345,000 pounds for the 2011 fishing year, as well as give the Regional
Administrator authority to reopen the recreational red snapper season later in the year if quota remains. But because there is no quota leftover from the summer season, there is no opportunity for a 2011 fall season.
Other Red Snapper News
The Council directed staff to begin developing an options paper that examines sector specific payback provisions to address overages that may occur in the red snapper fishery. Currently, if the Total Allowable
Catch is exceeded then the following years total allowable catch cannot be increased as scheduled. In this situation, if one sector (commercial or recreational) exceeds its annual quota and causes the total allowable
catch to be exceeded, both sectors experience the consequences when the following years total allowable catch is not increased. Sector specific payback options will look at ways to assign responsibility to each
sector for any overages incurred. In other words, if only one sector goes over its quota then the other sector would not be held responsible for that overage.
In the red snapper fishery the recreational sector is at the most risk of exceeding its quota, so this amendment will also include alternatives for annual catch targets and buffers for the recreational fishery
designed to reduce the likelihood of the quota being exceeded.
If you would like to receive automatic updates from the Council on this and other issues, visit www.gulfcouncil.org and click on the Subscribe button in the left column.
