March 17, 2008
American Sportfishing Association Policy Alert
ASA’s Position on Proposed Recreational Fishing Restrictions for Gag Grouper in the Gulf of Mexico
For more information, contact Gordon Robertson, vice president and Government Affairs lead, 703.519.9691, x237, or Patty Doerr, Ocean Resource Policy director, x244.
How You Can Help
Please send a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council voicing your support for recreational fishing protections for gag grouper in the Gulf of Mexico. Also send a letter to your Members of Congress asking them to support recreational fishing protections for Gulf grouper. For more detailed information, read ASA’s position on the gag grouper issue.
The Situation
To address problems facing gag grouper in the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is proposing Amendment 30B to the Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan. The amendment includes a suite of inequitable catch reductions for the entire Gulf grouper complex, expansion of marine protected areas (MPAs), and transferring fishing rights from recreational anglers to commercial fishing fleets.
The Council is proposing a forty-five percent reduction in gag grouper take, limiting the recreational angler to only one gag grouper in an aggregate bag of three fish. In addition, the Council is recommending closing the recreational fishing season for the entire Gulf grouper complex from January 15 to April 15 each year. While proposing these reductions to recreational anglers, the Council proposes that the commercial fleet can retain its current gag grouper take and have only a one month closure of the Gulf grouper commercial fishery. The Council is also proposing expanded MPAs, within which recreational fishing would potentially be prohibited year-round. In addition, the Council proposes to transfer the fishing rights of over half of the entire Gulf grouper complex to a limited number of commercial fisherman.
ASA’s position is that there are more equitable ways to address the recovery of gag grouper in the Gulf of Mexico. ASA will recommend to the Council that only the gag grouper season be closed for three months to recreational fishing while allowing other Gulf grouper to be recreationally taken in an aggregate bag. ASA also supports applying this same closure to the commercial sector. ASA strongly opposes the expansion of marine protected areas, within which recreational fishing would potentially be prohibited year-round. ASA also opposes giving exclusive right of access to more than half of the entire Gulf grouper fishery to the commercial fleet. In short, ASA opposes attempts to recover the gag grouper fishery primarily at the expense of recreational fishing opportunity and the associated economic impacts. The entire Gulf grouper fishery should be equitably distributed between the two user groups.
