Gulf Coast Fisherman
February 1, 2008 (MASGP-08-001-02)
MISSISSIPPI CHANGES SPECKLED TROUT REGULATIONS
The Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources (CMR) reduced the minimum size limit of spotted seatrout (speckled trout) in Mississippi waters from 14 inches to 13 inches at its regular monthly meeting January 15, 2008. The rule change will take effect February 16, 2008. As we go to press, the CMR is taking public input to further modify speckled trout regulations by reducing the bag limit from 15 to 10 fish. This proposal will be considered for adoption at the February 19, 2008 CMR meeting. Written comments on this latter proposal should be sent by February 15, 2008 to:
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources
1141 Bayview Avenue
Biloxi, MS 29530
Attn: Buck Buchanan
On January 25, 2008 the Coastal Conservation Association Mississippi (CCA) filed suit against the CMR in Harrison County Circuit Court to stop enforcement of the new 13-inch size limit. In December, the CMR initially voted to change the minimum length from 14 to 13 inches in Harrison and Hancock Counties. Jackson County waters were left at 14 inches in the original decision. The CCA asked the CMR to reconsider the decision at the January meeting when the size limit was reduced to 13 inches for all three coastal counties. In its lawsuit, the CCA alleges the CMR, which oversees the Department of Marine Resources, ignored the recommendations of its own scientists and input from coastal anglers in changing the size limit.
NEW FEDERAL SNAPPER RULE PUBLISHED
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries Service) has published a final rule implementing the approved regulatory actions in Joint Amendment 27 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico and Amendment 14 to the FMP for the Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico (Amendment 27/14). The intent of the rule is to reduce the red snapper catch, bycatch, and discard mortality in the directed commercial and recreational fisheries, as well as in the shrimp fishery. These regulations are designed to ensure a reasonable probability of ending red snapper overfishing by 2010 and rebuild the stock by 2032.
Elements of the Rule:
- Fishing mortality on red snapper will be restricted to a commercial quota of 2.55 million pounds and a recreational quota of 2.45 million pounds.
- Discard mortality in the directed fisheries will be reduced by:
- Reducing the commercial minimum size limit to 13 inches total length.
- Requiring the use of venting tools, dehooking devices, and non-stainless steel circle hooks (when using natural baits) for all reef fish fishery sectors.
- Shrimp effort, and the associated bycatch discard mortality of juvenile red snapper, will be controlled, as needed, through time-area closures to ensure shrimp trawl bycatch mortality of red snapper is reduced 74 percent below the 2001-2003 time period. This reduction can be modified in the future as red snapper rebuild.
- The recreational harvest will be constrained to the new quota by reducing the recreational bag limit from four fish to two fish, setting the bag limit for captains and crews of for-hire vessels at zero, and shortening the recreational fishing season to June 1-September 30. The 16-inch total length minimum size limit for recreational fishermen will stay the same.
These actions become effective February 28, 2008, except for the requirement to use non-stainless steel circle hooks, venting tools, and dehooking devices, which becomes effective June 1, 2008. Copies of the final rule are available by contacting NOAA Fisheries Service’s Southeast Regional Office at 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701. The final rule can be obtained in electronic form from the Federal Register Web site: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html (use advanced search for final rules using “AT87” as a keyword).
The University of Mississippi and the National Sea Grant Law Center will present the Sea Grant Law and Policy Journal Inaugural Symposium, “Coastal Resiliency”, on March 25 and 26 at The University of Mississippi in Oxford.
Resiliency refers to the capacity of a community to restore functioning after a disaster, such as a hurricane. Speakers at the symposium will focus on legal and policy issues, such as management options to address sea level rise, local regulation of fertilizer application through ordinances to improve water quality, the impact of coastal property owners’ access and visual rights on restoration projects and litigation under the National Flood Insurance Program.
The symposium is geared toward coastal managers, local officials, law students, attorneys and others working with coastal communities on environmental issues and disaster preparedness. The Law Center has applied for approval by the Mississippi Commission on Continuing Legal Education for a maximum of 5.25 hours of credit. The cost is $35.
Go to http://www.olemiss.edu/orgs/SGLC/National/SGLPJ/SGLPJ.htm for more details and to download the application form. Call Stephanie Showalter at (662) 915-5267 to register.
NOAA AWARDS $200,000 TO THE SOUTHEAST AQUATIC RESOURCES PARTNERSHIP
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded a $200,000 grant to the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP) to restore aquatic habitats throughout the coastal Southeast. The award kicks off the first year of a three-year restoration effort between the SARP and NOAA to implement habitat restoration projects that benefit NOAA trust resource species in the Southeast. The SARP received the award in partnership with the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and will work with NOAA Fisheries' Restoration Center and the Southeast Region Habitat Conservation Division to implement and monitor restoration projects within the nine coastal states that border the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coasts in the region.
The southeastern United States is home to 34 percent of North American fish species designated as endangered, threatened, or of special concern. For native mussel species, the amount climbs to 90 percent, making this region of particular interest for rebuilding populations. The SARP and NOAA have taken a leadership role in the development of the Southeast Aquatic Habitat Plan (SAHP), a tool to guide the regional efforts in the implementation of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP). The NFHAP is a joint US Fish and Wildlife-NOAA initiative to protect, restore, and enhance the nations fish and aquatic communities through partnerships. The SAHP will serve as a regional model for other areas of the country to achieve the objectives of protecting all healthy and intact fish habitats by 2015 and improving the condition of 90 percent of priority habitats and aquatic species targeted by the Fish Habitat Partnerships by 2020.
The southeastern United States has more miles of coastal shoreline and more coastal marsh than any other region of the country. The goal of the NOAA-SARP partnership is to promote, facilitate, and implement cooperative habitat conservation and restoration in the Southeast to benefit living marine resources by actively engaging local communities and developing a stewardship ethic that will maintain these resources for future generations. The first year of the partnership will focus on projects in the Altamaha River (GA), Roanoke River (NC), and Pascagoula River (MS) watersheds – priority watersheds in the region. A request for proposals has recently been distributed. For details on submitting proposals please visit the DMR Web site at http://www.dmr.state.ms.us and click on SARP-NOAA Grant RFPs in the right navigation strip under "Public Service Info." Send completed proposals to Marilyn Barrett-O’Leary, Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership at the following addresses: Send electronic copies to moleary@mbolcomm.com by March 1, 2008 and original copies postmarked by March 1, 2008 to 2420 Shadowbrook Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70816.
Sincerely,
Dave Burrage
Marine Resources
Specialist
MSU Coastal Research and Extension Center