South Atlantic Fishery Management Council

Snapper Grouper Amendment 15A

Amendment Summary

Established rebuilding plans and status determination criteria for snowy grouper, black sea bass, and red porgy.

Amendment documents

Implemented Regulations

  • Snowy grouper: MSY = the yield produced by Fmsy. MSY and Fmsy are defined by the most recent SEDAR assessment = 313,056 lbs ww. OY is the yield produced by FOY. If a stock is overfished, FOY equals the fishing mortality rate specified by the rebuilding plan. Foy = 75% Fmsy = 303,871 lbs ww. MSST = SSBmsy (0.75) = 3,498,735 lbs ww.
  • Established a rebuilding plan for snowy grouper to equal Tmax (34 yrs) starting in 2006. TAC for 2009 would be 102,960 lbs ww.
  • Red porgy: MSY equals the yield produced by FMSY. MSY and FMSY are defined by the most recent SEDAR Update = 625,699 lbs ww. OY = the yield produced by FOY. If a stock is overfished, FOY equals the fishing mortality rate specified by the rebuilding plan = 608,099 lbs ww.
  • Established a rebuilding plan for red porgy that maintained a constant fishing mortality rate throughout the rebuilding timeframe. TAC = 395,281 lbs ww for both 2009 and 2010. the TAC would change every three years according to the rebuilding plan.
  • Black Sea Bass: MSY = the yield produced by FMSY. MSY and FMSY are defined by the most recent SEDAR = 2,777,825 lbs ww. OY = the yield produced by FOY. If a stock is overfished, FOY equals the fishing mortality rate specified by the rebuilding plan = 2,742,551 lbs ww.
  • Modified the BSB rebuilding plan to the max recommended time period to rebuild which is 10 yrs with 2006 as year 1. defined a rebuilding strategy that maintains a constant catch throughout the rebuilding timeframe. The TAC for 2009 would be 847,000 lbs whole weight. The TAC specified for 2009 would remain in effect beyond 2009 until modified.
  • Final approval
  • Implementation
  • Pre-scoping
  • Public hearing
  • Rule making
  • Scoping
  • Secretarial review