The South Atlantic Bite

Newsworthy Notes – January 17th, 2025
Reminder! Mackerel Port Meetings Scheduled for January via Webinar
January 21, 23, and 29 at 6 p.m.
The Council will host three final port meetings for those interested in the Atlantic King and Spanish Mackerel fisheries at the end of this month. A series of in-person port meetings were held along the Atlantic coast throughout 2024 with assistance from state and regional partners. Over 250 fishermen and others attended the in-person meetings, designed to take a focused look at the fisheries. The port meetings are being held at the request of the Council’s Mackerel Cobia Advisory Panel.
For those unable to attend the in-person meetings, a webinar version of the Mackerel Port meeting is being hosted by the Council in January. Interested in the King Mackerel or Spanish Mackerel fisheries? Want to share your experience and vision for the future of these fisheries? Mark your calendar now and register now to attend one of the webinars below.

Mackerel Port Meetings via Webinar
All meetings begin at 6 p.m.
Tuesday, January 21 | Thursday, January 23 | Wednesday, January 29
Additional information about these meetings, including goals and objectives is available from the King and Spanish Mackerel Port Meeting web page.
NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed Rule to End and Prevent Overfishing of Red Snapper
Report from the initial Sub-Committee meeting will be provided during the December 2024 Council meeting
NOAA Fisheries recently announced a Notice of Availability and Proposed Rule for Amendment 59 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan. The amendment is being prepared by NOAA Fisheries on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce and proposes management strategies to end and prevent overfishing of Red Snapper while increasing landed catch by reducing the number of dead discards.
According to the Fishery Bulletin issued by NOAA Fisheries, Amendment 59 would increase annual catch limits predicated on at least a 24% reduction in dead discards. The reduction in discards would ensure the Red Snapper stock remains on track, or ahead of, rebuilding plan targets.

To reduce dead discards by at least 24%, the amendment would establish a discard reduction season for the recreational sector (including charter/for-hire) during December 1 through the end of February each year. The discard reduction season would apply to federal waters between 28 degrees North Latitude (approximately Cape Canaveral) and the Florida/Georgia border.
In this area, no private recreational or for-hire fisherman may fish for, harvest, or possess, a species in the South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery management unit with hook-and-line fishing gear.
Additional measures are proposed in Amendment 59, including modifications to the recreational and commercial fishing seasons, changes to the fishing year, commercial trip limits, revisions to the fishing mortality proxy for determining overfishing, specifying a new acceptable biological catch, and establishing an annual experimental studies program.
NOAA Fisheries will hold a series of in-person public hearings beginning in early February. See the Fishery Bulletin and the Proposed Rule for Snapper Grouper Amendment 59 for a list of the public hearing dates and locations and additional details, including how to provide public comment.
New For-Hire Reporting Advisory Panel Scheduled to Meet
January 29 via webinar | 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. | webinar registration
How to improve compliance for the Southeast For-Hire Integrated Electronic Reporting (SEFHIER) Program? That is one of the questions to be addressed by the Council’s new For-Hire Reporting Advisory Panel when it meets for the first time on Wednesday, January 29th via webinar.
SEFHIER is a mandatory reporting program for federally-permitted for-hire vessels that began in 2020. Separate requirements were originally implemented for the South Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. Due to a court ruling, the Gulf’s program ceased to operate in February 2023. The South Atlantic’s program has remained operational.
Members of the For-Hire Reporting AP will provide insight on improving the SEFHIER Program for the for the charter and headboat components of the Snapper Grouper, Dolphin Wahoo, and Coastal Migratory Pelagic fisheries, particularly improving compliance with existing requirements and any potential new requirements. The Council is moving forward with a new amendment to address these issues and will consider initiating public scoping in the Spring of 2025.

The AP meeting is open to the public and available via webinar as it occurs. Meeting materials, including the agenda, overview, presentations, and an online public comment form are now available on the Council’s website.
Additional Snippets:
NOAA Fisheries Withdraws Proposed Rule for Expanding Vessel Speed Restrictions to Reduce Right Whale Strikes
On January 15, 2025, NOAA Fisheries formally withdrew a proposed rule to amend the North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strike Reduction Rule, which published in the Federal Register on August 1, 2022. According to NOAA Fisheries, the proposed rule is withdrawn due to the scope and volume of public comments. The proposed rule would have expanded the size class of regulated vessels subject to applicable speed restrictions, enlarged boundaries and timing of seasonal speed zones, and other actions. Questions should be directed to Caroline Good at caroline.good@noaa.gov.
BOEM Finalizes Fisheries Mitigation Guidance
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has finalized guidance aimed a mitigating the impacts of offshore wind energy projects on commercial and for-hire recreational fisheries. BOEM’s final guidance provides a national framework for addressing social and economic impacts on the fishing industry affected by offshore wind development. Learn more.
Teek and Tom – NOAA’s New Animated Series Takes Kids on Educational, Climate-Weather Adventures
Teek and Tom Explore Planet Earth is a five-part animated education series with ten accompanying lesson plans that takes young viewers on an exploration of the ocean’s influence on Earth’s weather and climate and demonstrates how NOAA uses high tech tools to gather information about our changing planet. Also check out NOAA Ocean Today videos!
Mark Your Calendar
Keep track of meetings scheduled by the Council from the Meetings page of the website and register for meeting webinars as information becomes available. Register early and receive email reminders as the meeting date(s) approach!