What action is NOAA Fisheries taking?
NOAA Fisheries has prepared Amendment 59 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Amendment 59) to end and prevent overfishing of red snapper and support rebuilding objectives.
What is a Secretarial Amendment?
Amendment 59 is a Secretarial Amendment. A Secretarial Amendment is an amendment to a fishery management plan that is prepared by NOAA Fisheries on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary). This Secretarial Amendment (Amendment 59) has amended the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region.
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) provides the Secretary authority to act if a Fishery Management Council (Council) fails to develop and submit to the Secretary, after a reasonable period of time, needed conservation and management measures for a species. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council was notified in July 2021 that red snapper was undergoing overfishing, and has not taken action pursuant to the MSA to end the overfishing.
The Secretarial Amendment is similar to other amendments to fishery management plans except NOAA Fisheries prepares the amendment, then provides the amendment to the Council (and the broader public) for consideration and comment.
What actions are included in the amendment?
The amendment and supporting analyses evaluate a range of alternative options for setting and managing red snapper catches at levels that end and prevent overfishing and support rebuilding objectives. The amendment contains three actions:
Action 1. Revise the Fishing Mortality at Maximum Sustainable Yield (FMSY) Proxy for Red Snapper Overfishing
Action 2. Modify the Acceptable Biological Catch for Red Snapper
Action 3. Consider Reducing Dead Discards Set Red Snapper Annual Catch Limits
Why were actions that were in the proposed rule not included in the final rule?
The proposed rule and Draft Environmental Impact Statement had five additional actions that are not in the final rule:
Action 4. Establish New Management Measures to Achieve Dead Discard Targets
Action 5. Modify Commercial Management Measures to Further Optimize Yield
Sub-Action 5a. Increase the Commercial Trip Limit for Red Snapper
Sub-Action 5b. Modify the Commercial Fishing Season for Red Snapper
Action 6. Modify the Recreational Fishing Season for Red Snapper to Further Increase Fishing Opportunities/Optimize Yield
Action 7. Establish an Annual Experimental Studies Program
Action 8. Modify the Fishing Year for Red Snapper
NOAA Fisheries removed Actions 4 through 8 from further consideration in the amendment in view of the fact the new stock assessment will be available soon and because public commenters voiced substantial concerns about the impacts of the discard reduction season. Therefore, these actions would no longer be implemented in this final rule.
NOAA Fisheries added a new preferred annual catch limit alternative in Action 3 that was not in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement or Proposed Rule. The new alternative is based on the results of the SEDAR 73 Update Assessment, and would not require additional measures to reduce dead discards, as found in the discard reduction season alternatives contained in Action 4. The new alternative would set the total annual catch limit for red snapper equal to the acceptable biological catch of 509,000 fish. The total annual catch limit of 509,000 fish would include 34,000 fish (landings) and 475,000 fish (dead discards). Retaining the current allocation percentages from the Snapper-Grouper Fishery Management Plan of 28.07% for the commercial sector and 71.93% for the recreational sector, the new commercial annual catch limit will be 102,951 pounds whole weight, and the recreational annual catch limit will be 22,797 fish.
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