Amendment 16 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan
Snapper Grouper Amendment 16 seeks to achieve the necessary reductions in harvest to end overfishing for gag grouper and vermilion snapper. The Council held public hearings on this proposed amendment in May 2008. Some of the alternatives taken out to public hearings included:
For gag grouper:
- January through April spawning season closure for gag grouper for both commercial and recreational sectors where no fishing for and/or possession of gag would be allowed. In addition, during the closure no fishing for and/or possession of the following species would be allowed - black grouper, red grouper, scamp, red hind, rock hind, yellowmouth grouper, tiger grouper, yellowfin grouper, graysby, and coney;
- division of the commercial quota for gag grouper between 2 regions (NC/SC and GA/FL);
- reduction in the current 5-grouper aggregate bag limit for the recreational fishery.
For vermilion snapper:
- establish a directed commercial quota;
- adjust recreational bag/size limits,
- establish a recreational closed season October through May 15, and other alternatives.
Amendment 16 also includes alternatives to reduce bycatch mortality by requiring the use of venting and dehooking tools. (Note: The Council chose a new preferred alternative during its June 2008 meeting that would not require the use of circle hooks.) Alternatives also included interim allocations of gag grouper and vermilion snapper.
NOTE: During its June 2008 meeting in Orlando, the Council chose to add 4 new management alternatives, based inpart on input received during the May 2008 public hearings and from its Snapper Grouper Advisory Panel. As a result, a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) was prepared to analyze impacts of the proposed alternatives (see below). The Council is currently seeking comment on ALL of the alternatives proposed under Amendment 16. Comments are due to the Council by 5:00 PM on August 15, 2008. NOAA Fisheries is accepting comments on the SDEIS (includes the 4 new alternatives) until September 15, 2008.
UPDATE!: Amendment 16 was approved by the Council during its September 2008 meeting in Charleston, SC. Read more...
Documents
Overview of Amendment 16 (posted 8/6/08) - Note: Please see the Amendment 16 Public Hearing Document below for additional details.
The following two documents were distributed as part of the May 2008 Public Hearing Series:
Amendment 16 Public Hearing Summary (PDF); Amendment 16 Public Hearing Document (PDF).
Amendment 16 SDEIS (PDF) This document addresses analysis of the four new alternatives and also includes a list of the original alternatives in Amendment 16 . The comment period for SDEIS is open until September 15, 2008. See the SDEIS for information on how to submit comments.