# Gulf of Mexico Federal Regulations Update



## GandyGirl (Aug 10, 2010)

Ahoy, here is the latest news straight from the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting in Gulfport, Mississippi. If you have any questions about any of the topics below, or you are interested in something I haven’t written about please feel free to contact me at: [email protected]il.org

Sector allocations
Council has decided to remove the sector allocation issue, most commonly referred to as sector separation, out of the generic ACL/AM amendment and put it in its own standalone amendment. The ALC/AM amendment is scheduled to be finished some time this summer, and removing sector allocation from its current amendment will allow for more thorough consideration of the issue. Placing sector allocation into its own amendment essentially starts the clock over on the issue, and the new amendment will be sent out to scoping and public hearings, and be analyzed thoroughly before any final commitments are made either way. 

Gag
The results from the 2009 gag update assessment were presented to the council during the reef fish committee meeting. The re-run made a couple of changes to the 2009 update assessment that ultimately led to a slight increase in the perceived size of the gag stock in the Gulf of Mexico. Because of the stock size increase the Councils Scientific and Statistical Committee increased both the over fishing limit (OFL) and the acceptable biological catch (ABC) level for gag for 2011. The over fishing limit is threshold at which the most fish can be taken from a stock without compromising the stock’s ability to reproduce and maintain a balanced population size for the future. The acceptable biological catch is the amount of fish that can be removed from a stock and is set lower than the overfishing limit to account for scientific uncertainty and natural fluctuations in stock size. The acceptable biological catch for gag is then split between commercial and recreational sectors (commercial gets 39% and recreational gets 61%). 
Here are the changes from the 2009 update assessment to the re-run:
2009 Update assessment	Re-run
Over Fishing Limit	1.32 MP GW	1.67 MP GW
Acceptable Biological Catch	1.17 MP GW	1.58 MP GW

* MP GW = millions of pounds gutted weight

In addition, the scientific and statistical committee (SSC) suggested a stepwise increase in both the over fishing limit and the acceptable biological catch levels through 2015. The gag stock is overfished, and these numbers are consistent with the rebuilding plan that must rebuild the gag stock to a healthy size within 10 years. The scheduled increases are as follows:
ABC	OFL
2011	1.58 MP GW	1.67 MP GW
2012	2.02 MP GW	2.11 MP GW
2013	2.45 MP GW	2.54 MP GW
2014	2.82 MP GW	2.91 MP GW
2015	3.12 MP GW	3.19 MP GW

The reef fish committee also discussed the fate of the gag season for the remainder of 2011. Currently an interim rule prohibits the recreational possession of gag in federal waters through May 31st, 2011. The state of Florida did not limit the recreational harvest of gag along with the federal closure, and without compliance from Florida there is no option to allow for a gag fishing season in federal waters. The Council’s reef fish committee discussed some management options that would allow for a gag season opening in federal waters sometime this year and managed to recommend that staff develop a rule that the federal waters open to gag fishing from September 16st through November 15th, 2011. This recommendation is contingent upon both council support and compliance from the state of Florida who plans to meet later this month to discuss gag management options. This proposed interim rule will be discussed further at the April meeting of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.

Goliath Grouper
Each fish stock that is considered for management by the Council must first undergo a benchmark stock assessment to determine the health of the fish population. This assessment of the fish stock is done by SEDAR process, which is essentially a gathering of all the experts on the species who analyze all of the scientific knowledge associated with that fish. The review of the Goliath SEDAR was inconclusive and scientists were unable to determine, with a reasonable level of confidence, the health of the goliath grouper population. 
The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee reviewed the Goliath SEDAR and determined that although the stock seems to be increasing, the inconclusive stock assessment does not currently promote any consideration of management options that would allow for the harvest of goliath. The committee recommended that a workshop be convened to address the gaps and uncertainties in the assessment data sometime in the next 3-5 years. The State of Florida is currently considering some type of management plan that might open a limited goliath fishery in state waters.

Amberjack Seasonal Closure Reminder
In October of 2010 the Council selected to close the recreational greater amberjack season for the months of June and July. Current projections estimate that the 2011 quota will be reached by late August if no in-season closure is made. Council chose to have an in-season closure to avoid the early seasonal closure, and allow the amberjack season to extend further into the fall than projected. I want to make it clear that this is not limiting the number of amberjack fishing days for 2011, it is simply re-arranging the time of year that the fishing days are allowed. This change was made so that the closure of amberjack coincides with the opening of red snapper season, which essentially ensures that at least one offshore species can be targeted year round. 

Your chum, 
Emily Muehlstein
Fisheries Outreach Specialist
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council


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## billin (Oct 14, 2007)

*Thanks*

For the info


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## Jaw Jacker (Jul 29, 2009)

Just check with your Lawyer before you keep a fish to see if its Legal.


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## gbliz (Jan 13, 2011)

good one jaw jacker


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## swhiting (Oct 4, 2007)

Thanks again Emily for the info.


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## whyworry (Aug 17, 2010)

It will be interesting to see what FL does about the state waters gag situation, if they stand, I interpret that Feds are not going to have a gag opening this year.


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## Magic236 (Oct 1, 2007)

Thanks for the info.


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## handfull (May 8, 2009)

GandyGirl said:


> This change was made so that the closure of amberjack coincides with the opening of red snapper season, which essentially ensures that at least one offshore species can be targeted year round.


So now there will be virtually no days when it makes sense to go offshore if you weigh the cost versus what you can keep. Also means that more fish will be discarded dead. Seems like it makes more sense to me to have a short season with more species open, at least from a bycatch perspective.


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## fmitchell (Oct 19, 2007)

*Game over*

If the amberjack season is closed during Snapper season - for me - it is just no longer worth it. The cost of gas, boat, and travel does not afford many days on the water as it is. To limit the catch even further - for me -it's - Game Over - boat leaves state and no more $$$$$ spent fishing in Alabama! :no:


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## tailfisher (Oct 7, 2007)

so is gag grouper closed in state water also. All these changes are a pain in the ass to keep up with.


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## jamessig (Oct 3, 2007)

As it stands right now, grouper* are closed in Florida state waters from Feb 1st to March 31st inclusive. The FWC meets on Feb 22-23 where they will probably have to decide whether they will bow to pressure from the feds to adopt the same closure dates proposed by the feds. It would appear that if the state refuses to fall into line with the feds there will be no recreational grouper allowed in federal waters this year. 


*Grouper includes gag, red, black, scamp, yellowfin and yellowmouth and all other species with the exception of snowy, warsaw and speckled hind.


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## feelin' wright (Oct 7, 2007)

Absolutely rediculous. I have wrote and wrote my congressmen and nothing is ever done to pull the reigns on EDF (i mean NOAA) . It does not seem like the RFA or CCA have any affect either. What else can a angler do but break the law. I say that Florida tells the feds FU and opens it back up. It will hurt the federal permit holders but tehy could always sell and do charters inside state waters. 

I think the only option is to continue deploying reefs in state water so we can have a fishery that can be broken away from the corrupt and inept feds. 

Can we make donations to the PRFA to build reefs. Can't drive so I can only contribute $$$ for now.


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## 69Viking (Oct 30, 2008)

Why anyone would deploy reefs in Federal Waters anymore is beyond me. If anything Charter boats should see an increase in business because I bet a lot of recreational anglers just say "screw it" and go out on Charters where they don't have to worry about what fish you can and can't keep, just let the Charter keep track of it. With the price of Gas it's almost not worth it for a small time recreational guy to go out anymore if he doesn't have anyone to split the cost with, he ends up throwing back more fish than he can keep and spends a lot of money on gas that just doesn't make it worth it anymore, sad really.


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## bonehead senior (Jan 23, 2011)

Well here we go again close the fishing when the kids are out of school another way to stop the younger generation from becoming the next generation of fishermen and women do they belong to PETA We all need to hire lawyers when we go fishing Florida will continue to loose money from the recreational fisherman but what what the heck that seems to be what they want anyway!!!!!!!! I use to spent 10 to 15 weekends a year offshore fishing now maybe 4 or 5 if everyone is close to me and has cut back look at the economic inpack each year.


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