South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
Planning for your next trip offshore this spring? Beginning May 1st there are a few more species available to harvest in South Atlantic federal waters (greater than 3 nautical miles off the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and the east coast of Florida).
Members of South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and Socio-Economic Panel (SEP) will come together in Charleston, South Carolina April 17-20, 2023 to discuss a broad range of topics relevant to federal fisheries. The members include biologists, stock assessment scientists, economists, social scientists, and natural resource specialists from academic institutions, and state and federal marine resource agencies.
Federal fisheries management is complex. Effective management involves input from persons directly involved in the fisheries. Congress recognized this back in 1976 when it passed legislation establishing eight regional fishery management councils in the United States (the Magnuson-Stevens Conservation and Management Act) and required the councils to have advisory panels. These advisory panels include private recreational, charter/for-hire, commercial fishermen, researchers, and others directly involved in and knowledgeable about fisheries. AP members provide information and recommendations at the grassroots level to better inform the federal fishery management process.
Members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved measures to reduce the annual catch limit for Red Snapper and help address release mortality for Red Snapper and other species managed as part of the snapper grouper complex. Snapper Grouper Regulatory Amendment 35 would reduce the total Annual Catch Limit from 42,510 fish to 28,000 fish once implemented.
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is currently soliciting public comment for two actions proposed in Snapper Grouper Regulatory Amendment 35. The amendment’s first action would modify the annual catch limit for Red Snapper to address overfishing, primarily driven by high numbers of fish in the recreational fishery released throughout the year that don’t survive. These dead fish comprise approximately 85% of the allowable removals for the fishery. Due to the high proportion of removals being dead discards, reductions in landings alone, even no allowable landings, will not end the overfishing of Red Snapper. Therefore, in order to end overfishing, the Council must also reduce dead discards.
After considering recommendations from its advisory panels, Scientific and Statistical Committee, and public input, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved three amendments for Secretarial review during its December meeting at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, measures proposed in the amendments would likely be implemented in 2023.
Persons interested in federal fisheries management have an opportunity to become more involved by applying now for open seats on the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s advisory panels. The advisory panels inform and guide the Council in developing and implementing federal fishery management plans and amendments. Issues currently being addressed by the Council include options […]
There were many agenda items affecting federal fisheries management for the September meeting of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, but a single issue dominated interest from the public – the potential use of time/area closures for the snapper grouper fishery. The Council received a total of 1,047 online written comments, with the majority opposing time and area closures to address release mortality in the Red Snapper fishery. The opposition continued as the Council received comments during the meeting in Charleston, SC from charter captains, recreational fishermen, regional business leaders, boat and fishing gear manufacturers, and Florida Congressman John Rutherford.
The Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award is presented to individuals or teams that have exceeded, above and beyond, the duty requirements expected, exemplify the virtues of professionalism and dedication, and demonstrated a distinct pattern of service to enforcing fisheries regulations in the South Atlantic region. Officer McDonough was the first recipient of the award in 2010 when he was acknowledged for his work with the FWC coastal squad in Volusia County and participation in the Federal Joint Enforcement Agreement.
SAFMC Release, a project of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Citizen Science Program that offers fishermen the opportunity to provide data on shallow water grouper species being released, has now expanded to include Red Snapper.
