Home | Tournaments | Calendar | Weather | Merchandise | Sponsors |
|
Spearfishing Regulations This area is for the topic of existing or proposed Spearfishing Regulations. |
|
Thread Tools | Rate Thread | Display Modes |
04-28-2011, 11:04 PM | #1 |
Forum Administrator
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Florida USA
Posts: 16,466
|
Adjustments to 2011 Gulf Quotas for Amberjack
April 28, 2011
FB11-041 FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: Rich.Malinowski@noaa.gov 727-824-5305, FAX 727-824-5308 Adjustments to 2011 Recreational and Commercial Quotas for Greater Amberjack in the Gulf of Mexico and Announcement of a Commercial Closure Date NOAA Fisheries Service has published a rule adjusting the recreational and commercial quotas for greater amberjack, based on final 2010 landings data. Both sectors exceeded their quotas for 2010. In addition, NOAA Fisheries Service projects that the remaining commercial quota for 2011 will be met by June 17, 2011; therefore, the commercial sector will be closed at 12:01 a.m. local time, June 18, 2011. In 2008, NOAA Fisheries Service issued a final rule establishing commercial and recreational quotas for greater amberjack and accountability measures that adjust the quotas following an overage of a sector’s quota. Commercial Quota and Closure For 2010, the 503,000-pound (lb) commercial quota was adjusted to 373,072 lb to account for a 2009 overage, and the commercial sector was closed on October 28, 2010, when available data indicated the quota had been met. Final 2010 landings data indicate that an additional 123,956 lb were not initially captured by the reporting system. Final landings provided by NOAA Fisheries Service’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) indicate 562,172 lb were landed by the commercial sector in 2010, for an overage of 189,100 lb. Therefore, NOAA Fisheries Service has published a rule to adjust the 2011 commercial quota to account for this overage, establishing a 2011 quota of 313,900 lb. The SEFSC estimates 189,618 lb of greater amberjack was landed by the commercial sector during January and February 2011. The commercial harvest of greater amberjack is prohibited from March 1 through May 31 to protect spawning aggregations, and the fishing season re-opens on June 1. The SEFSC projects that the remaining 124,282 lb of the adjusted quota established by this rulemaking will be harvested by June 17, 2011. Therefore, this rule will set a commercial closure for greater amberjack in the Gulf of Mexico of 12:01 a.m. June 18, 2011. Recreational Quota For 2010, the 1,368,000-lb recreational quota for greater amberjack was adjusted to 1,243,184 lb to account for a 2009 overage. Because of the extensive fishery area closures established in response to the Deepwater Horizon MC252 oil spill, recreational fishing effort was severely curtailed during the summer period. NOAA Fisheries Service monitored recreational landings and projected that the quota would not be met during 2010. When final recreational landings data for 2010 became available, it was determined the 2010 adjusted quota was exceeded by 52,776 lb; a very high spike of landings occurred in September and October, leading to the slight overage. Therefore, this rulemaking would adjust the 2011 recreational quota from 1,368,000 lb to 1,315,224 lb. With upcoming rulemaking to establish a June-July seasonal closure to recreational fishing for greater amberjack, NOAA Fisheries Service does not expect the recreational sector to exceed its quota for 2011. NOAA Fisheries Service will monitor recreational landings and take appropriate action if landings appear they will meet the quota before the end of the fishing year.
__________________
"Spearing is the path to enlightenment." --- Lao Tzu “Live this day as if it will be your last. Remember that you will only find 'tomorrow' on the calendars of fools.” ---- Success Unlimited Author Og Mandino b.1923 - d.1996 |
Bookmarks |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | Rate This Thread |
|
|