South Atlantic Red Snapper (Amendment 17A)
Frequently Asked Questions
March 2010
GENERAL QUESTIONS:
What is the issue with the South Atlantic red snapper population?
• The most recent stock assessment (2008) indicates the South Atlantic population of red snapper is overfished and is undergoing overfishing.
How do fishery managers determine whether fish populations are undergoing overfishing and/or overfished?
• A fish population is considered to be undergoing overfishing if fish are removed from a population at a faster rate than would produce the maximum amount of fish over time.
• A fish population is considered to be overfished if it declines below a predetermined level called the minimum stock size threshold. These levels are defined differently for each fish population based on life history characteristics and other factors.
What does the law require for fish stocks that are overfished and undergoing overfishing?
• Laws governing federal fisheries of the United States appear in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), which was reauthorized in 2007.
• For species undergoing overfishing, the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires the Council end overfishing and rebuild overfished stocks.
What are the Council and NOAA Fisheries Service doing to address this issue in the short-term?
• The Council requested NOAA Fisheries Service develop an interim rule that will temporarily prohibit all harvest and possession of red snapper in federal waters of the South Atlantic. The interim rule is effective from January 4, 2010, through June 2, 2010, and may be extended for an additional 186 days.
• Frequently asked questions regarding the interim rule for red snapper are available online at: https://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov.
What is the Council doing to address this issue in the long-term?
• The Council is considering permanent measures to end overfishing of red snapper in Amendment 17A to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region. Currently, Amendment 17A includes:
o A rebuilding schedule, or a timeframe within which the stock is expected
to be rebuilt;
o A rebuilding strategy;
o Annual catch limits as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act;
o Management measures intended to end overfishing and rebuild the stock within the designated timeframe;
o A monitoring plan to assess the health of the stock and effectiveness
of management measures throughout the rebuilding timeframe; and
o A requirement for the use of circle hooks to reduce red snapper bycatch mortality.
What are long-term red snapper regulations likely to include?
• Amendment 17A contains management alternatives for large time and area closures that would prohibit fishing for all species in the snapper-grouper management complex (there are 73) in areas where red snapper are most abundant.
Why are large area closures being considered?
• Large multispecies closures are being considered to because bycatch mortality of red snapper is very high and they are often caught and discarded while fishing for other snapper-grouper species. Prohibiting harvest of red snapper alone will not be enough to end overfishing of the species.
When will Amendment 17A go into effect?
• Amendment 17A was approved for public hearings at the Council’s September 2009 meeting, and the public hearings were held in November 2009.
• The Council is tentatively scheduled to approve Amendment 17A for Secretarial review in June 2010.
How long would a prohibition on red snapper and/or an area closure for all snapper-grouper fishing last?
• It is the Councils intent to re-open the fishery as soon as the science and the law indicate it is possible.
• Over the course of the rebuilding plan, the acceptable total removals - meaning total fish killed - should increase each year as the stock recovers. At some point the total acceptable removals will be sufficient to decrease the size of or eliminate an area closure or to re-open the fishery under an alternative management program.
What area will Amendment 17A affect?
• If implemented by NOAA Fisheries Service, the current closure in Amendment 17A would apply to federal waters off the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and the east coast of Florida (ranging from 3 to 200 miles offshore of each state).
Who will be affected by red snapper regulations in Amendment 17A?
• Regulations for Amendment 17A would apply to fishermen holding a South Atlantic Unlimited Snapper-Grouper Permit, a South Atlantic 225 lb Trip Limit Snapper-Grouper Permit, a South Atlantic Charter/Headboat Permit for Snapper-Grouper, and private anglers.
SCIENCE/ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS:
How was the most recent assessment conducted for red snapper?
• The 2008 Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) (SEDAR 15) for red snapper, involved three separate workshops and an outside independent review. The assessment concluded the stock is overfished and undergoing overfishing. The assessment estimated that red snapper reach a maximum age of 54 years, not 25 years as previously estimated. The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee approved the assessment and its conclusions.
• The 2008 stock assessment is available online at: http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/sedar/.
Where did the data used in the SEDAR stock assessment come from?
• Data used for the assessment consist of commercial landings collected since the 1940’s, headboat fishery catch records from the Southeast Headboat Survey since 1972, and recreational catch records from the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey (MRFSS) since 1981. Also included are U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recreational fisheries surveys of the 1960s and 1970s. Data through 2006 were included in the assessment.
• Information on size and age is provided by sampling programs that support the catch statistics programs. Information on biological characteristics, such as age, growth, and reproduction, is provided by various research studies.
• Scientists use assessment models that can test the impacts of using different years of data and evaluate assumptions about data reliability and precision. As described in the stock assessment report, they evaluate many different alternatives before deciding on the final configuration.
Why do scientists say red snapper are overfished when I have been seeing many more red snapper in recent years?
• A spike in 2007 and 2008 recreational landings indicates that fishermen are seeing more fish now than in previous years. This spike in landings is likely due to a strong year class that occurred in 2005 or 2006.
• The 2008 stock assessment reflects an increase in abundance since 1995; in fact, abundance estimated for the start of 2007 is nearly twice that estimated for 1995. Strong year classes that occurred in 1998 and 1999 and moved through the fishery over the last several years are also partially responsible for the perception that the stock has improved recently.
• Despite these increases in overall abundance, the age structure of the population remains truncated (there are not enough older fish). Red snapper live to 54 years of age, but the assessment indicates that most red snapper are less than 10 years of age.
• It is also apparent that the mortality in the directed fishery has recently fallen about 50 percent. However, discard mortality increased following implementation of the minimum size limit in 1992.
• NOAA Fisheries Service Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) evaluated several concerns raised by fishermen regarding several analyses conducted after the 2008 assessment was completed. The SEFSC concluded that altering model assumptions based on fishermen’s concerns would impact the magnitude of required harvest reductions but would not change the assessment conclusions regarding the status of red snapper.
• Although the stock is improving, overfishing is still occurring and must be addressed within the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
We’re also seeing more of the larger fish than we have in the past few years. Aren’t these larger fish a sign that the population is healthy?
• For red snapper, larger fish don’t always represent older fish. There is a great deal of variability in the age of red snapper at larger sizes. For example, the average size of a 10 year old red snapper is around 32 inches, but 10 year old fish range in size from 27 to 40 inches.
• Age samples from the fishery reveal that most of the fish caught in recent years are younger than age 10.
• Fish are being caught before they become old enough to reach their peak reproductive levels. Although the 20 inch size limit allows some fish to spawn before they become vulnerable to harvest, these younger, mostly first-time spawners are less productive than the older and heavier fish. A 10-year old red snapper may have reached 90–95 percent of its maximum length but only 80 percent of its potential maximum weight.
• Increasing the abundance of older, mature fish is important to long-term sustainability. Increasing the number of mature age classes in the population would allow it to take greater advantage of favorable conditions to produce large number of recruits (fish that are born within a given year) while also ensuring a buffer to sustain the population during periods of less than optimal conditions for spawning
When will the next stock assessment be completed?
• A new benchmark stock assessment for red snapper will be completed in 2010.
Why is a new benchmark assessment being conducted for red snapper?
• Fishermen reports and landings reflect a spike in landed and discarded fish during 2007 and 2008.
• The SEDAR Steering Committee, which creates the benchmark assessment and assessment update schedule, felt the 2007-2008 increase in landings and discards should be incorporated into a new benchmark assessment for the species.
Will the 2010 assessment mean a delay for Amendment 17A implementation?
• Unfortunately, NOAA Fisheries Service cannot wait to implement measures to end overfishing of red snapper. Failure to end overfishing would be a violation of the law. Postponing development of Amendment 17A until after the assessment is completed would substantially delay implementation of measures to end overfishing and rebuild the stock.
What happens if the assessment shows different harvest reductions are needed than indicated by the current assessment?
• NOAA Fisheries Service is committed to work with the Council to respond to the new assessment findings with any needed management adjustments as quickly as possible.
ADMINISTRATIVE/PROCESS QUESTIONS:
When can I comment on issues regarding South Atlantic red snapper?
• Comments can be submitted during several comment periods including:
- 45-day formal comment period for the notice of availability of the draft environmental impact statement. Comments can be submitted to NOAA Fisheries Service from March 5, 2010, to April 19, 2010 via http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html
- 60-day formal comment period for the notice of availability of Amendment 17A (date to be determined). Comments to be submitted to NOAA Fisheries Service.
- 45-day formal comment period for the proposed rule (date to be determined). Comments to be submitted to NOAA Fisheries Service.
- Any scheduled Council meeting (four are held every year). Comments to be submitted to the Council.
• Fishery bulletins will be sent out to permit holders and other fishery-related entities, and posted on the NOAA Fisheries Service and Council Web sites. The bulletins will inform constituents of when comment periods are open and how comments may be submitted.
Will my comments be considered by the Council and/or NOAA Fisheries Service?
• All written comments submitted to NOAA Fisheries Service during a formal comment period are considered and responded to by NOAA Fisheries Service, either in the final environmental impact statement or in the final rule. Comments on the same subject are grouped together and addressed with one response; however, each comment is counted individually.
• Comments submitted to the Council are reviewed at their scheduled meetings.
Where can I get more information on red snapper and the most recent version of Amendment 17A?
• More information on red snapper and Amendment 17A may be obtained via the Web at: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov or http://www.safmc.net.
• Hard copies of the most recent version of Amendment 17A and environmental impact statement may be requested from:
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 201 North Charleston, SC 29405
Phone (843) 571-4366 toll free (866) SAFMC-10 Fax (843) 769-4520
