Data and Management Strategies for Recreational Fisheries with Annual Catch Limits (2021) / Chapter Skim
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5 Alternative Management Strategies for Recreational Fisheries
5 Alternative Management Strategies for Recreational Fisheries
Pages 131-162
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From page 131... ...
However, in the midst of the nation's success in rebuilding marine fisheries and the growth in saltwater recreational fishing, some recreational fisheries advocates began expressing their perception that the U.S. federal fisheries management system has not adapted to meet the unique goals and needs of anglers.
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From page 132... ...
and the Regional Fishery Management Councils (Councils) can implement alternative management approaches more suitable to the nature of recreational fishing as long as they still adhere to the conservation principles and requirements established by the MSA.
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From page 133... ...
a Council Fishery or quota-based Management Plan hard catch limit (FMP) be managed using ACLs Requires formal annual plan review Harvest tags Tags are used to Recreational Improves data Fair distribution Highly track harvest of fisheries licensing collection or control (open lottery versus migratory individual fish.
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From page 134... ...
and cooperation be a challenge for component of the regional stock Gulf of Mexico States in the assessment Red Snapper Council region (Amendment need calibrated Perceived inequities 50 to the reef and compatible in management due to fish FMP) recreational differing state-by-state fisheries data regulations Conservation equivalency proposal approved annually
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From page 135... ...
(Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council) review process."1 The act also requires FMPs to "establish a mechanism for specifying annual catch limits in the plan (including a multi-year plan)
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From page 136... ...
They are well suited to improving data collection or controlling harvest of species with low ACLs or rare-event species that are difficult to sample with traditional recreational fisheries surveys such as MRIP (e.g., deepwater species managed by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council [SAFMC] , such as Snowy Grouper, Wreckfish, Golden Tilefish, and Yellowfin Grouper that regularly have percentage standard errors [PSEs]
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From page 137... ...
More recently, the joint working group formed by the SAFMC and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (GMFMC) in 2020 to discuss alternative management approaches under the MFA decided that, at least for now, they would not consider the use of harvest tags for improving data collection or controlling fishing effort or harvest.
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From page 138... ...
This allows states to tailor fisheries management to the preferences of their recreational fishing community and account for regional disparities in fish stock abundance or availability while still achieving equivalent conservation benefits to the resource (ASMFC, 2017)
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From page 139... ...
In recent years, the recreational fishing season for Red Snapper in Gulf of Mexico federal waters became progressively shorter despite regular increases in the recreational ACL. In response, recreational anglers asked for greater flexibility in the management of the recreational harvest of Red Snapper, including setting the fishing season.
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From page 140... ...
However, the disadvantage is that if broadly implemented by Councils, conservation equivalency could generate a patchwork of fisheries regulations for each Council-managed stock, greatly increasing the complexity and inconsistency of regulations. For example, the GMFMC's Amendment 50 actually consists of six amendments: Amendment 50A consists of actions affecting all Gulf states and the overall federal management of Red Snapper, regardless of whether all states have a state management program, but in addition to Amendment 50A, each Gulf state has its own amendment (Amendments 50B–50F)
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From page 141... ...
One of the early calls to action in this regard came from the first of five GSMFC–NOAA Fisheries workshops on Red Snapper held in 2013. The report from that workshop (Opsomer et al., 2013)
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From page 142... ...
The Gulf of Mexico recreational Red Snapper fishery was chosen as a case study for best practices (Chapter 3 describes Red Snapper surveys implemented by each Gulf state)
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From page 143... ...
• Significant differences in the estimates of catch for Red Snapper exist between the state and federal surveys; thus a more consistent survey method utilizing a transparent list of potential participants could be beneficial (MAFAC, 2020)
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From page 144... ...
Consequently, for Council-managed species, the geographic scope for assessment and management occurs at the broad, regional scale, not on a state-by-state basis. Even in such cases as Gulf Red Snapper in which, through Amendment 50 to the reef fish FMP, individual states received delegated authority to manage their portion of the private recreational fisheries, management measures under a state's approved state management program must achieve the same conservation goals as those of the current federal management measures (i.e., constrain harvest to the state's allocated portion of the recreational-sector ACL and continue contributing to rebuilding the regionwide Red Snapper stock)
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From page 145... ...
In their simplest form, carry-over provisions do not require modifications to catch monitoring or stock assessment procedures and can therefore be implemented with minimal effort and cost. It is likely that more sophisticated carry-over procedures can be developed in conjunction with a new interim assessment, thereby updating stock abundance and catch information simultaneously and reducing subjectivity in the assessment of underlying reasons for underages.
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From page 146... ...
While cross-sector transfer provisions have the potential to assist either sector in achieving fishery objectives, and could possibly offset management uncertainty associated with the implementation of recreational management measures (i.e., whether or not such measures have the intended impact on harvest) , the committee favors the development and/or consideration of criteria for when transfers are advisable.
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From page 147... ...
The model takes into account how changes in management measures may impact recreational fishing effort, angler welfare, fishing mortality, and stock levels (Gulf of Maine Cod and Haddock only) , although it is constrained by uncertainties associated with data inputs (e.g., preliminary MRIP data and terminal year stock assessment information)
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From page 148... ...
These post-season, reactive AMs were implemented in 2013 through the MAFMC's Omnibus Recreational Accountability Amendment, which also removed in-season closure authority for recreational fisheries.13 While a bioeconomic model has not been developed and/or applied to the MAFMC's recreational fisheries, the Council has supported the development of several management strategy evaluations (MSEs) for the recreational Summer Flounder fishery to address trade-offs and impacts of different suites of recreational management measures (see the section on MSE development later in this chapter)
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From page 149... ...
East Coast Councils, the primary AM for recreational fisheries under Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) management is the extensive in-season monitoring conducted by the states.17 This is used to adjust management measures to maintain harvest within established limits.
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From page 150... ...
. The Texas iSnapper program had 95 anglers reporting a total of 163 trips in the 2015 Red Snapper season.
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From page 151... ...
Recreational Reform Initiative The Recreational Reform Initiative is a joint effort of the MAFMC and the ASMFC to improve management of the recreational fisheries for Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass and Bluefish. All four species are jointly managed by the MAFMC and the ASMFC, which requires that both entities jointly approve ACLs and most management strategies, although there may be differences between recreational management measures for state and federal waters.
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From page 152... ...
Other topics under this objective include evaluating the pros and cons of using preliminary current-year MRIP data and developing an "envelope of uncertainty" approach for determining when changes to recreational management measures are needed. Typically, MAFMC staff use preliminary current-year Wave 1–4 data for Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass combined with the proportion of harvest in one or more past years (as recommended by the MAFMC Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee)
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From page 153... ...
. An additional approach under consideration as part of this initiative is a "harvest control rule" proposed by multiple recreational fishing organizations under which predetermined sets of management measures would be applied at different stock biomass levels.19 Significant stakeholder input would be required to develop the upper and lower bounds of the management "steps," but in general, higher levels of biomass would be associated with more liberal management measures and greater fishery access, while lower levels of biomass would result in more restrictive measures and less fishery access.
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From page 154... ...
EVALUATING TRADE-OFFS OF PAIRING SURVEY METHODS WITH ACL MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES USING MANAGEMENT STRATEGY EVALUATION Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper Fishery Management Strategy Evaluation MSE is often used to test the robustness of various management strategies and regulations against uncertainty associated with fish population dynamics, fisheries monitoring and stock assessment, and fisheries management (De Lara and Martinet, 2009; Jones et al., 2009)
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From page 155... ...
. Additionally, the MAFMC Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee reviewed the MSE and was able to use the fleet dynamics model to evaluate the nonpreferred Summer Flounder coastwide recreational measures in November 2019 as part of the 2020 fishery specifications.21 The MAFMC's Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM)
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From page 156... ...
While this MSE is being developed in an ecosystem context, it provides the MAFMC the opportunity to align its EAFM process with its standard recreational management review process, and will address an issue of concern to the Council and stakeholders. BEYOND RETAINED CATCH: MANAGING RECREATIONAL FISHERIES FOR ANGLER SATISFACTION AND ECONOMIC OUTCOMES While this report is concerned primarily with technical problems in the monitoring and inseason management of recreational catches, it is helpful to place these problems in the broader context of recreational fisheries management and the factors influencing angler satisfaction and economic outcomes.
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From page 157... ...
Allocation of harvest tags to individual anglers may bring maximum flexibility in terms of when fish can be taken, but may raise concerns about perceived access and fairness of distribution. Angler satisfaction with the fisheries management system is influenced not only by management outcomes but also by attributes of the management process.
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From page 158... ...
. Indeed, several recreational fisheries support organizations, such as the American Sportfishing Association, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and the Center for Sportfishing Policy, have identified OY as the management reference point they believe, when appropriately applied, could help NOAA Fisheries and the Regional Fishery Management Councils address what they perceive as a fisheries management system that is still too focused on yield-based management goals more appropriate for managing commercial fisheries, and therefore inadequate to meet the needs of anglers (ASA and TRCP, 2018; CSRFM, 2014)
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From page 159... ...
Recommendation: NOAA Fisheries and the Councils should further evaluate approaches to establishing criteria for the use of carry-over provisions, as well as limits on the amount of unused annual catch limits (ACLs) or acceptable biological catch that could be carried forward.
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From page 160... ...
2017. Examination of Possible Private Recreational Management Options for Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper.
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From page 161... ...
New Orleans, LA: NOAA Fisheries-Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission Red Snapper Workshop, December. Patrick, W
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