The South Atlantic Bite

Posted September 30, 2024

Newsworthy Notes – September 26th, 2024

Reminder! King and Spanish Mackerel Port Meetings Continue in Florida and South Carolina

Fishermen and others interested in the King Mackerel and Spanish Mackerel fisheries will have a unique opportunity to share their perspectives and vision for the future of these fisheries as a series of port meetings continues next week along Florida’s east coast and in South Carolina the following week.

The port meetings are being hosted by the Council, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and state partners along the Atlantic coast throughout 2024. Meetings were held in North Carolina in April, New England in May, New York in June and Georgia in July

Attendees will have the chance to actively discuss their perspectives with other fishery participants and Council members. The informal meetings allow stakeholders to share their insights and help determine the future of these fisheries. A list of goals and objectives for the port meetings is available from the Council’s website. Those wishing to attend a meeting are encouraged to sign up via the website.

Upcoming Port Meetings

All held from 6-8 p.m.

September 30th, 2024

St. Augustine, FL

Willie Galimore Community Center

399 Riberia Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084

October 1st, 2024

Cocoa, FL

City of Cocoa Civic Center

430 Delannoy Avenue
Cocoa, FL 32922

October 2nd. 2024

Stuart, FL

The Banyan Room (inside the Women’s Club of Stuart)

729 SE Ocean Boulevard
Stuart, FL 34994

October 3rd, 2024

Lake Worth, FL

Palm Beach Library Lantana Road Branch

4020 Lantana Road Lake Worth, FL 33462

October 7th, 2024

Murrells Inlet, SC

Murrells Inlet Community Center
Conference Room C

4462 Murrells Inlet Road
Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

October 8th, 2024

Charleston, SC

SC Department of Natural Resources
Outdoor Classroom

217 Fort Johnson Road
Charleston, SC 29412

Questions? Contact Christina Wiegand at Christina.Wiegand@safmc.net.

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SAFMC Seminar Series: Challenges and opportunities to enhance the adaptive capacity of fisheries management, insights from fishery practitioners

Tuesday, October 8 | 1 – 2:30 p.m. | Webinar Registration

The Council’s Seminar Series continues in October with a closer look at enhancing the adaptive capacity of fisheries to environmental change. Abigail Golden from the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences will present. According to Golden, “There is growing academic literature on this subject, however, the literature has been fairly abstract and high-level and provided limited concrete guidance to on-the-ground fisheries managers and scientists.”

This month’s webinar will focus on the management implications of academic theories through interviews and surveys with U.S. regional council members and staff, NOAA Fisheries regional office staff and staff from NOAA Fisheries science centers. These insights were used to: 1) define key adaptive traits for the U.S. fisheries management system going forward, 2) provide guidance for researchers in this field about how to make their work more useful to managers, and 3) describe key barriers to adaption across the U.S.

Register now to attend the webinar and receive email reminders as the date approaches. A Q&A session will be held at the end of the presentation and the public will be provided an opportunity to participate. Learn more about the SAFMC Seminar Series and access earlier presentations.

Council Members Sworn In; New Chair and Vice Chair Elected

Two members of the Council took their oaths as the newest appointees to the Council during its September meeting, joining two current members recently reappointed. Each year, the Secretary of Commerce announces appointments to the eight regional fishery management councils. Members are nominated by the governors of their respective states and selected by the Secretary. (L-R Andy Strelcheck, NOAA Fisheries, Charlie Phillips, Judy Helmey, Thomas Roller, James Hull, Jr.).

James Hull, Jr. was selected to fill an obligatory seat for the state of Florida, and Charlie Phillips an at-large seat on the Council. Both Judy Helmey and Tom Roller were reappointed to the Council to serve a second term.

James (Jimmy) Hull, Jr., a full-time commercial fisherman from Ormond Beach, Florida and owner of Hull’s Seafood Market and Restaurant, has been involved in fisheries his entire life. He has also dedicated time and effort to fisheries management, having served on the Council’s Snapper Grouper Advisory Panel, including a term as chair of the AP. Jimmy brings his experience in a number of commercial fisheries, including snapper grouper, King and Spanish Mackerel, and shark, as well as his knowledge of business operations to the Council table.

Charlie Phillips is no stranger to the South Atlantic Council, having served previous terms, including council chair during his last term. Charlie is also a commercial fisherman and business owner, operating Phillips Seafood in Townsend, Georgia where he primarily packs out snapper grouper species. He is also the owner of Sapelo Sea Farms, producing clams and wild oysters. In addition, he owns the Fish Dock Restaurant with a menu promoting local seafood. Charlie has been actively involved in the development of on-demand (ropeless) gear for the Black Sea Bass pot fishery, and serves on the Large Whale Take Reduction Team, addressing protected resources issues.

New Chair and Vice-Chair

During the meeting the Council elected Trish Murphey, representative for the NC Division of Marine Fisheries and former vice-chair as the new chair of the Council. She replaces Dr. Carolyn Belcher. Jessica McCawley, state representative for the FL Fish and Wildlife Commission was elected vice-chair. Both will serve two-year terms.

Miss the Last Council Meeting? Check out the meeting news release and committee reports for the latest updates

Members of the Council met last week in Charleston, SC and approved two amendments, that if approved by the Secretary of Commerce, will modify management measures for snapper grouper species. These include recreational vessel limits for Gag and Black Grouper, transit provisions for on-demand (ropeless) commercial Black Sea Bass pots, and management changes to Scamp and Yellowmouth Grouper and other species in the shallow water grouper management complex. A news release from the meeting is available from the Council’s website. Reports from the various committee meetings and meetings of the Full Council are also available from the September 2024 meeting page.

Red Snapper

The Council received a briefing during last week’s meeting from NOAA General Counsel (attorneys) about litigation involving NOAA Fisheries and Red Snapper. One lawsuit alleges that NOAA Fisheries violated the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act because it failed to address overfishing of Red Snapper. The settlement agreement for this case was approved on August 22, 2024, and includes NOAA Fisheries agreeing to complete and submit a Secretarial amendment to end overfishing of Red Snapper. The final rule implementing measures included in this new amendment must be submitted to the Federal Register by June 6, 2025.

The Council will be able to comment on the Secretarial amendment, and there will be opportunities for public comment prior to implementation. See the Fishery Bulletin from NOAA Fisheries for additional details.

The Council will meet again December 2-6, 2024 at the Holiday Inn Lumina Resort in Wrightsville Beach, NC. Additional meeting information will be posted on the website as it becomes available.

Additional Snippets:

National Academies of Sciences Seeks Experts on Permits and Quota Distribution Study

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) is seeking experts to conduct a new study: Phase 2: Assessing the Distribution of Permits and Quotas in Fisheries Management. This study follows from a recent study, Assessing Equality in the Distribution of Fisheries Management Benefits: Data and Information Availability. The current Committee will be tasked with selecting at least three commercial or for-hire fisheries from varying locales as case studies and evaluating the distribution of permits or quota for each. Learn more about this second phase from the study website. Nominations are due by Monday, October 7, 2024.

Commercial Closure for Snowy Grouper in SA Federal Waters

The commercial harvest of snowy grouper in federal waters of the South Atlantic will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on September 29, 2024. During the commercial closure, all sale or purchase of snowy grouper is prohibited, ad harvest or possession in or from federal waters is prohibited. See the Fishery Bulletin from NOAA Fisheries for details.

Harvest South Atlantic Red Snapper Now

Exempted Fishing Permits allow Florida anglers to keep out-of-season fish.

Normally, harvesting 108 red snapper from the South Atlantic might be enough to earn you some jail time. Not if you have Florida Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs). See this recent article from SportFishing to learn more about this federally-funded project and how fishermen can apply.

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!