SAFMC to hold public hearing on red snapper measures

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a series of public hearings this month, including one in Charleston, regarding proposed management measures meant to end overfishing of red snapper and other bottom species.

Some of the alternatives being considered would close wide areas of ocean off the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida to virtually all forms of recreational and commercial bottom fishing. The plan to severely curtail offshore bottom fishing has spawned an outcry from recreational anglers, charter captains and commercial operators.

During the hearings, council staff will provide overviews of the management alternatives, which are known as Amendments 17A, 17B, and 18 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan.

Members of the public can speak at the hearings, and formal comments received during the hearings will be recorded and distributed to all council members for consideration in management decisions.

The council also will accept written comments regarding the amendments until 5 p.m. Nov. 25. Specific instructions regarding the submission of written comments are included in the Public Hearing documents. Please specify the individual amendment and specific management alternatives that are being addressed in all written comments.

Amendment highlights:

Snapper Grouper Amendment 17A: Red snapper are currently undergoing overfishing and are overfished. Amendment 17A establishes annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs) for red snapper, long-term management measures to rebuild the red snapper stock, and a monitoring program. Management options include closure of the red snapper fishery, plus alternatives for area closures for all snapper-grouper fishing to address bycatch of red snapper. One alternative includes permitted fishing zones with special monitoring requirements.

Snapper Grouper Amendment 17B: Establishment of ACLs and AMs for nine remaining species in the snapper-grouper complex currently listed as undergoing overfishing. Alternatives include a proposed deepwater closure, allocations for golden tilefish, aggregate ACLs for gag, black grouper and red grouper, and AMs to close fisheries once the ACL is met.

Snapper Grouper Amendment 18:

Additional measures are being considered for the snapper-grouper complex, including expansion of the management unit northward, limiting access for the golden tilefish fishery, measures for the black sea bass pot fishery, change in fishing year for golden tilefish, improvements in fisheries statistics, and designation of Essential Fish Habitat as necessary.

The council will meet again Dec. 6-11 at the Atlantic Beach Sheraton Oceanfront, 2717 West Fort Macon Road, Atlantic Beach, N.C.