The advisory panel members of South Atlantic Fishery Management Council have recommended the Council about proposed management measures to end overfishing for 10 species in the snapper grouper management complex. The Council is considering options to close large areas of federal waters extending from portions of South Carolina through north/central Florida to all snapper grouper fishing in order to end overfishing of red snapper through Amendment 17A to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan.
Council Chairman Duane Harris said that these alternatives are going to have significant economic impacts, but the Council must end overfishing – and long-term, that’s a good thing. He added that there will certainly be huge consequences to recreational and commercial fishing communities.
It is said that at a meeting South Carolina the Council discussed at length the list of recommendations provided by the advisory panels and fishermen, and formulated an additional management alternative that may allow designated “fishing zones” for snapper grouper species within the proposed closed areas.
It is observed that these fishing areas would have stringent requirements, including special permits for both commercial and recreational fishermen, and may require the use of Vessel Monitoring Systems to track fishermen’s movements, electronic logbook reporting, text message reporting for recreational fishermen and other requirements. Chairman Harris said that the Council is exploring options to allow some harvest of snapper grouper species to benefit the fishermen as well as the collection of data from these fishermen.
Experts believe because of the high mortality associated with discarded red snapper, a closure of the fishery will not be sufficient to end overfishing. Long-term measures are being developed through Amendment 17A. Measures to address the remaining species listed as undergoing overfishing: speckled hind, warsaw grouper, golden tilefish, snowy grouper, black grouper, black sea bass, gag, red grouper, and vermilion snapper, are being addressed through Amendment 17B. Alternatives include a deepwater closure, specified quotas, and allocations for some species.
