NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 28 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP), as prepared by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). If implemented, this rule would establish a process for determining whether the limited harvest and possession of red snapper in or from the South Atlantic exclusive economic zone (EEZ) could occur during a given fishing year and establish a process for setting commercial and recreational fishing seasons for red snapper beginning in 2013.
The rule would establish a 1-fish per person recreational bag limit and would also remove the 20-inch, total length (TL), minimum size limit for both the commercial and recreational sectors to decrease regulatory discards.
Amendment 28 also specifies the process and formulas for setting commercial and recreational annual catch limits (ACLs) for red snapper if limited fishing seasons may occur. This rule would implement those ACLs and specify accountability measures (AMs) when the limited harvest and possession of red snapper is allowed. During limited fishing seasons, the rule would also eliminate the current red snapper minimum size limit, establish a recreational bag limit and establish a commercial trip limit for red snapper. In this rule, NMFS intends to continue the rebuilding of the red snapper stock and to provide socio-economic benefits to snapper-grouper fishermen and communities that utilize the red snapper resource.
Written comments must be received on or before May 29, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the amendment identified by
``NOAA-NMFS-2013-0040'' by any of the following methods:
Electronic submissions: Submit electronic comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2013-0040, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments.
Mail: Submit written comments to Rick DeVictor, Southeast
Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in
Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
Electronic copies of Amendment 28, which includes an environmental
assessment, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA), and a
regulatory impact review, may be obtained from the Southeast Regional
Office Web site at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sf/pdfs/SGAmend28.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick DeVictor, Southeast Regional
Office, telephone: 727-824-5305, or email: rick.devictor@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The snapper-grouper fishery of the South
Atlantic, which includes red snapper, is managed under the FMP. The FMP
was prepared by the Council and is implemented through regulations at
50 CFR part 622 under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
Background
Red snapper are overfished and undergoing overfishing. The harvest
and possession of red snapper have been prohibited since January 4,
2010, initially through temporary rules (74 FR 63673, December 4, 2009
and 75 FR 27658, May 18, 2010), and then through the final rule to
implement Amendment 17A to the FMP (75 FR 76874, December 9, 2010).
Amendment 17A continued the prohibitions on a permanent basis by
implementing an ACL for red snapper of zero (landings only). Amendment
17A also implemented a rebuilding plan for red snapper, which
specifies that red snapper biomass must increase to the target rebuilt
level in 35 years, starting from 2010. The final rule implementing
Amendment 17A also included a large area closure for most snapper-
grouper species, however, this area closure did not become effective
because it was determined not to be necessary to end the overfishing of
red snapper (76 FR 23728, April 28, 2011). At its June 2012 meeting,
the Council received new information from NMFS regarding discard
estimates for red snapper. Using these data, the Council and NMFS
determined that a limited season for red snapper was possible in 2012.
At the Council's request, NMFS implemented emergency rulemaking to
allow for the limited harvest and possession of red snapper in or from
the South Atlantic EEZ in 2012 (77 FR 51939, August 28, 2012).
Status of the Stock
The most recent Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR)
benchmark stock assessment for red snapper, SEDAR 24, was completed in
October 2010. Much like the stock assessment completed in 2008, this
assessment showed red snapper to be overfished and undergoing
overfishing, but also showed that red snapper were undergoing
overfishing at a lower rate than found in the 2008 stock assessment.
The next benchmark stock assessment for red snapper is scheduled for
2014.
Measures Contained in This Proposed Rule
This rule would implement several management measures to allow for
the limited harvest and possession of red snapper in or from the South
Atlantic EEZ. When the Council approved, and NMFS implemented, the
temporary rule through emergency action in 2012, they determined that
retention of a limited number of red snapper (13,097 fish) would not
jeopardize the rebuilding of the red snapper stock because the
estimated discard mortality level for 2012 was below the acceptable
biological catch (ABC). In Amendment 28, the Council has developed a
process to evaluate whether a similar limited harvest season could
occur each year, beginning in 2013.
Process for Determining the Limited Annual Red Snapper Harvest
Amendment 28 describes the annual process developed by the Council
for determining whether a limited fishing season for red snapper will
occur and how much red snapper may be harvested. The ABC is determined
through the Council's ABC control rule and the rebuilding projections
from the most recent stock assessment. Estimated landings and dead
discards of red snapper from the previous year should be available
around March of each year, and NMFS would use that information in
formulas approved by the Council in Amendment 28. If NMFS determines,
using the formulas, that the estimated landings and dead discards that
occurred in the previous year are equal to or greater than the ABC for
the current year, no harvest would be allowed and the ACL would remain
equal to zero. However, if NMFS determines, using the formulas, that
the previous year's estimated landings and dead discards are less than
the ABC, then the ACL would be set to the amount of harvest that may be
allowed for the current year.
Setting the Commercial and Recreational Red Snapper Fishing Seasons
If NMFS determines limited commercial and recreational fishing
seasons are allowed for that fishing year, NMFS would announce the
commercial and recreational fishing season start dates in the Federal
Register and by other methods, as deemed appropriate. The commercial
fishing season would begin on or close to the second Monday in July,
and the recreational fishing season, which would consist of weekends
only (Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays), would begin on or close to the
second Friday of July. If the fishing seasons do not open exactly on
these dates, they would open as close to these dates as possible. NMFS
would not announce the season end date for the commercial sector before
the season starts, but would monitor harvest and close the commercial
sector when the commercial ACL has been reached or projected to be
reached by filing an in-season closure notification with the Office of
the Federal Register. After the commercial sector closes, sale and
purchase of red snapper are prohibited and harvest and possession of
red snapper are limited to the bag and possession limits. NMFS would
project when the recreational ACL would be reached and announce the
fishing season end date in the Federal Register. The recreational
season length would be based on an evaluation of historical harvest
levels and fishing effort.
If the NMFS Regional Administrator (RA) determines tropical storm
or hurricane conditions exist, or are projected to exist, in the South
Atlantic during the commercial or recreational fishing seasons, this
rule would allow the RA to modify the opening and closing dates by
filing a notification to that effect with the Office of the Federal
Register, and announcing via NOAA Weather Radio and Fishery Bulletin
any change in the red snapper commercial or recreational fishing
seasons. Additionally, the Council decided that if the projected
commercial or recreational fishing season is determined by NMFS to be 3
days or less, then the commercial or recreational fishing season would
not open for that fishing year because that short time period would not
provide sufficient fishing opportunity for the public.
ACLs
Amendment 28 includes formulas for determining the commercial and
recreational ACLs on an annual basis. The formulas are based on total
removals (landings plus discards) from prior fishing years. The
formulas would provide the total ACL for limited fishing seasons. Using
the current allocation ratio for red snapper (28.07 percent commercial
and 71.93 percent recreational), NMFS would then determine the
commercial and recreational ACLs. When finalized data from the prior
fishing years are available and NMFS determines that limited fishing
seasons are allowable, NMFS would publish a notification with the
Office of the Federal Register to announce the commercial and
recreational ACLs for limited fishing seasons for that fishing year.
AMs
During limited fishing seasons, the Council and NMFS would
establish in-season AMs to prevent these ACLs from being exceeded. If
red snapper harvest is allowed in a given fishing year, the commercial
in-season AM requires that if commercial landings reach or are
projected to reach the commercial ACL, then NMFS would close the
commercial sector for red snapper for the remainder of the fishing
year. After the commercial sector closes, sale and purchase of red
snapper would be prohibited and harvest and possession of red snapper
would be limited to the bag and possession limits until the
recreational fishing season closes. The recreational in-season AM is
the length of the recreational fishing season as determined by NMFS and
announced in the Federal Register. After the recreational fishing
season closes, the bag and possesion limits for red snapper would be
zero. If both the commercial and recreational sectors are closed, it
would be unlawful to harvest or possess red snapper.
Other Management Measures
In order to reduce the probability of an overage of the commercial
and recreational ACLs during the limited open seasons, this rule would
implement a 75-lb (34-kg) commercial trip limit and a 1-fish per person
recreational bag limit. The rule would also remove the 20-inch (51-cm),
total length (TL), minimum size limit for both the commercial and
recreational sectors to decrease regulatory discards of red snapper
(fish returned to the water because they are below the minimum size
limit).