NOAA IS SEEKING COMMENTS ON A PROPOSED RULE TO CHANGE GAG, RED
GROUPER, AND SHALLOW-WATER GROUPER MANAGEMENT MEASURES IN
THE GULF OF MEXICO
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA
Fisheries Service) is seeking public comment on a
proposed rule that would implement measures to end
overfishing of gag and revise shallow-water grouper
(SWG) management measures as a result of changes in
the stock condition.
The most recent assessments for
gag and red grouper indicate changes in stock condition.
For gag, landings need to be reduced to end overfishing
and be consistent with the fishing mortality level needed
to harvest the optimum yield. For red grouper, the stock
condition has improved and allows for an increase in
harvest. To ensure harvest targets are met, the rule
proposes annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability
measures (AMs) for these species. These measures are
outlined in Amendment 30B to the Fishery Management
Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico
submitted by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management
Council.
The proposed rule was published in the
Federal Register on November 18, 2008, with the
comment period ending January 2, 2009.
Proposed Management Measures
For the recreational fishery, the proposed rule would:
- Establish ACLs and AMs for gag and red
grouper.
- Reduce the gag bag limit to two fish per person
per day and the aggregate grouper bag limit to
four fish per person per day.
- Increase the red grouper bag limit to two fish per
person per day.
- Extend the closed season for recreational
shallow-water grouper to February 1 through
March 31.
For the commercial fishery, the proposed rule would:
- Establish ACLs and AMs for gag, red grouper,
and SWG.
- Establish a commercial quota for gag of 1.32
million pounds (mp) in 2009, 1.41 mp in 2010,
and 1.49 mp in 2011.
- Increase the commercial quota for red grouper to
5.75 mp.
- Set the SWG quota as the sum of the gag and red
grouper quotas with an additional 0.41 mp
allowance for other SWG species.
- Establish an incidental bycatch allowance trip
limit for commercial gag and red grouper of 200
pounds for the species that first reaches 80
percent of its quota.
- Reduce the commercial minimum size limit for
red grouper from 20 inches to 18 inches total
length to reduce bycatch.
In addition, the proposed rule would:
- Establish the Edges 40-fathom contour seasonalarea
closure. This area will be closed to all
fishing for Council-managed species from
January 1 through April 30 each year and is
intended to protect gag and other groupers
during their respective spawning seasons.
- Eliminate the end date for the Madison-Swanson
and Steamboat Lumps marine reserves.
- Require a person aboard a federally permitted
Gulf of Mexico commercial or for-hire reef fish
vessel to comply with federal regulations for
reef fish species regardless of where the fish are
harvested to increase compliance with federal
regulations.
Accountability Measures and Annual Catch Limits
The proposed rule would address requirements of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act that ACLs and AMs be in place for
stocks undergoing overfishing by 2010. The ACL must
be set ‘‘at a level such that overfishing does not occur in
the fishery.’’
AMs are management measures
established with ACLs to end and prevent overfishing.
Proposed AMs for gag and red grouper give the NOAA
Fisheries Service Assistant Administrator (AA) the
authority to shorten the fishing season for a particular
sector if that sector’s landings go over the ACLs. The
recreational AM would provide the AA the authority to
shorten the fishing year in the following year if the ACL
is exceeded, while the commercial AM would give the
AA the authority to shorten the fishing season within the
fishing year and in the following year if the commercial
ACL is exceeded. Recreational ACLs would be defined
as multi-year running average landings, with exception
of the first year which would use only 2009 landings.
Dates and Addresses
Written comments must be received no later than 5 p.m.,
Eastern time, on January 2, 2009. You may submit
comments by any of the following methods:
● Electronic Submissions: Federal e-Rulemaking Portal:
http://www.regulations.gov. All comments received are
part of the public record and will generally be posted to
http://www.regulations.gov without change. All
personal identifying information (for example, name,
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter
may be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential
business information or otherwise sensitive or protected
information. NOAA Fisheries Service will accept
anonymous comments. To submit comments enter
“NOAA-NMFS-2008-0203” in the keyword search and
then select for the proposed rule “send a comment or
submission.” Attachments to electronic comments will
be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or
Adobe PDF file formats only.
● Mail: Peter Hood, Southeast Regional Office, NOAA
Fisheries Service, 263 13th Avenue South, St.
Petersburg, Florida 33701.
● Fax: 727-824-5308, Attention: Peter Hood.
The proposed rule is also available via the Internet at
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html (do an
advanced search under proposed rules for “page
68390”). Printed or electronic copies of the rule and
Amendment 30B can be obtained from the Southeast
Regional Office by contacting Peter Hood (see address
above).
Comments must be received by January 2, 2009, to be
considered by NOAA Fisheries Service in its decision on
the final rule. All comments received by NOAA
Fisheries Service specific to the proposed rule will be
addressed in the final rule.
