South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
The Council will hold its first quarterly meeting of 2023 in Jekyll Island, Georgia beginning on Monday, March 6th and ending at noon on Friday, March 10th. The meeting will be held at the Westin Jekyll Island and is open to the public. The meeting is also available via webinar each day as it occurs. Register now for the webinar or review the week-long meeting agenda and plan to attend in person.
The Council’s Seminar Series continues next Tuesday, February 14th with a presentation from The Nature Conservancy on anglers’ release practices and attitudes towards the use of descending devices.
The Council held a series of in-person public hearings from Morehead City, NC to Key Largo, FL in the past two weeks to gather public input and help answer concerns and questions as the Council continues to solicit public comment for two actions proposed in Snapper Grouper Regulatory Amendment 35.
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.
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting in North Carolina covered a broad range of topics as the Council addressed federal fishery management issues. The Council held meetings of its Snapper Grouper Committee, Mackerel Cobia Committee, Outreach and Communications Committee, and meetings of the Full Council throughout the week. A public comment session was also held on Wednesday.
These are all topics that will be addressed by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council when it convenes its December meeting next week at the Blockade Runner Resort Hotel in Wrightsville Beach, NC to address federal fishery management issues. In addition, the Council has scheduled a Climate Change Scenario Planning Workshop on Monday, December 5th as part of the week-long meeting.
It’s a problem all too common to many offshore fishermen – a shark partially or completely consumes a fish before you have the chance to get it near the boat. Although sharks are managed by NOAA Fisheries through their Highly Migratory Species Division, Council members continue to hear from frustrated fishermen about shark depredation and the biological and economic costs.
Fishery biologists, stock assessment scientists, and other natural resource specialists from state and federal agencies will meet in Charleston, SC next week to address a broad range of federal fisheries topics and provide recommendations to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
The Council’s seminar series continues next Tuesday, October 11, 2022, via webinar with a presentation by Dr. Nate Bacheler with NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Science Center on how underwater video cameras are being used on traps as part of the Southeast Reef Fish Survey.
The Council’s September meeting in Charleston last week was a busy one, with lots of public input, intense discussions, and progress made on multiple fishery management plan amendments.
