Starting next year, commercial red snapper fishermen will have to give advanced notice of their landings from the Gulf of Mexico.
The National Marine Fisheries Service will require vessel owners or operators to give federal officials at least three hours – but no more than 24 hours – notice before their landing. The agency made the announcement as part of the final rule amending the fishery management plan for reef fish resources in the Gulf on 12 June. While most of the amended plan takes effect on 12 July, the advanced notice portion will start on 1 January.
In addition, the amended plan will require shares from the red snapper individual fishing quota that are in nonactivated accounts to be returned to the agency for reallocation. It also will allow the NMFS to retain a portion of the quota at the beginning of each fishing year in case a reduction takes place in the commercial allocation.
According to the agency, fishermen must also give notice on any commercial trip that lands a reef fish or Florida hogfish harvested in the Gulf even if no quota species are on board.
The agency solicited stakeholders for comments back in March. Among the dozen responses received were concerns about the extra work the advanced notice requirement will place on fishermen. However, in its response, the NMFS said it only expects the notice to take about three minutes, which would not hinder even a one-day trip.
Eric Brazer, Jr., the deputy director for the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders Alliance, told SeafoodSource.com that his organization, which represents commercial red snapper fishermen and other stakeholders, supports giving federal officials advanced notice.
“Commercial fishermen are proud that we're accountable for every pound of fish we land and this rule will help prevent fish from falling through the cracks,” he said. “This will also help enforcement and we support the good work they do in the Gulf partnering with us to track and count fish. We wish all reef fish fishermen in the Gulf, including the private angler sector, were as accountable as we are.”
In addition to giving the agency advanced notice, the amended rule also requires commercial fishermen to land at an approved landing location. Stakeholders can submit a request to add a location by contacting the NMFS.
