Releases – March 24, 2016
The recreational harvest of Atlantic migratory group cobia (from Georgia to New York) will close at 12:01 a.m. on June 20, 2016. Recreational harvest of cobia will reopen on January 1, 2017.
The Atlantic migratory group includes cobia from Georgia through New York. Cobia off the east coast of Florida are part of the Gulf of Mexico migratory group. There are separate annual catch limits for the recreational and commercial sectors of Atlantic migratory group cobia. If the annual catch limits are exceeded, accountability measures are in place to ensure overfishing does not occur.
If the Atlantic migratory group cobia recreational and total (recreational and commercial combined) annual catch limits are exceeded, NOAA Fisheries is required to reduce the length of the recreational fishing season in the following fishing year.
In 2015, both the recreational and the total annual catch limits of Atlantic migratory group cobia were exceeded. Thus, the accountability measure is triggered for 2016. Because the commercial annual catch limit was not exceeded, this closure is only for the recreational sector. During the closure, recreational harvest or possession of cobia is prohibited.
This closure is required by regulations implemented under the Fishery Management Plan for Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region and is necessary to protect the cobia resource.
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council has approved the designation of five offshore areas as Spawning Special Management Zones (SMZs) to help protect spawning fish and unique habitat associated with spawning activities in the South Atlantic, including portions of an elbow-shaped ledge off the coast of South Carolina and a deep sinkhole in the ocean floor just off the Florida Keys.
The designation, through Amendment 36 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan, would protect important spawning habitat and associated species of fish within the Council’s snapper grouper management complex by limiting specific fishing and anchoring activity within the sites. If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, the five areas ranging in size from three square miles to five square miles would be the first such Spawning SMZs designated in federal waters off the South Atlantic coast.
“The selection of the Spawning SMZs has been a long and deliberative process, focusing on sites that are most beneficial for spawning snapper grouper species such as speckled hind and warsaw grouper while balancing impacts to fishermen,” said Council Chair Dr. Michelle Duval. “The Council chose these areas based on scientific recommendations, input from its advisory panels, a great deal of public input, and the results from cooperative research with fishermen familiar with the unique habitat attracting species at selected sites.”
The five Spawning SMZs approved by the Council are: a 5.1 square mile area off the coast of North Carolina known as the South Cape Lookout site; a 3.03 square mile area off the coast of Georgetown, South Carolina, within an area called “Devil’s Hole” or “Georgetown Hole”; two experimental artificial reef areas established by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources known as “Area 51” and “Area 53”, each approximately 3 square miles in size off the coast of South Carolina; and a 3.6 square mile area off the east coast of the Florida Keys referred to as the “Warsaw Hole” (50 Fathom Hole) for the number of warsaw grouper associated with the area.
Fishing for species in the snapper grouper fishery management complex and anchoring would be prohibited within the proposed Spawning SMZs; anchoring is allowed in the experimental artificial reef areas. Fishermen would be allowed to troll for pelagic species such as dolphin, tuna, and billfish in the areas. Restricting bottom fishing is designed to help protect habitat and fish that gather there to spawn, resulting in the production of more eggs and larvae that could help recruitment of juvenile fish.
The areas would also help reduce bycatch and bycatch mortality for snapper grouper species, including speckled hind and warsaw grouper, two species that have been candidates for listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. A transit provision is also included in the amendment.
In January 2011, fishing for deepwater species such as blueline tilefish and snowy grouper was banned in federal waters greater than 240 feet deep in the entire South Atlantic region in an effort to help protect speckled hind and warsaw grouper. The ban was lifted in 2012 after it was determined it would not achieve its goal for protecting the two species.
The Council began development of Amendment 36 after reviewing recommendations from its Marine Protected Area Workgroup and considering the biological benefits shown from protecting spawning areas, including those in the Dry Tortugas and Riley’s Hump in the Gulf of Mexico.
“Recent cooperative research conducted on candidate sites for Spawning SMZs has been very helpful in the Council’s decisions,” explained Council Chair Duval. “We look forward to additional cooperative research and to incorporating Citizen Science into the monitoring of these areas, working collaboratively to evaluate the effectiveness of the areas and ensure they are appropriate.”
In addition to designating the Spawning SMZs, the amendment includes a sunset provision that would require the areas be reauthorized after a period of 10 years, based on their effectiveness.
A System Management Plan for the Spawning SMZs was approved in conjunction with Amendment 36, outlining research/monitoring, law enforcement, and outreach needs. The amendment would also move the existing Charleston Deep Artificial Reef Marine Protected Area to match the boundary of the currently permitted site.
When Steve Murphey took over leadership of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ Habitat and Enhancement Section in June, he had a clear vision of where he wanted the section to go.
“I wanted to expand our cultch planting ability and get a little outside the box with new and innovative approaches to habitat enhancement and shellfish leasing” said Murphey, who took the place of former section chief Craig Hardy, when Hardy retired in February 2015.
Cultch planting involves strategically placing shells and rock to enhance shellfish habitat in potentially productive shellfish areas. Oysters, clams, and other aquatic life are attracted to the cultch and immediately begin to colonize on the material.
“This next season, we’re going to see a greatly expanded cultch planting program and a more aggressive and systematic approach to artificial reef and sanctuary development. We’re making some common sense changes in the shellfish lease program to make it more user-friendly, we’ve submitted proposals to quantify strategic habitat areas, and we’re going to be more efficient in our field operations,” Murphey said.
The Shellfish Rehabilitation Program received $300,000 for cultch planting this year, which will allow more planting in southern waters of the state that have seen heavy fishing pressure in the past several years.
Murphey’s section also supports the Coastal Habitat Protection Plan, whose expert staff will work closely with the Artificial Reef and Oyster Sanctuary programs in the assessment and long-term monitoring of the reefs.
Murphey has also implemented a pre-application site inspection for the shellfish lease program that allows staff to identify possible roadblocks to approval of the site, such as the presence of submerged aquatic vegetation. Staff can suggest alternatives if needed before the applicant sends in a non-refundable $200 application fee. This new approach could decrease the number of site visits staff needs to take, which would save time and money in travel expense, Murphey said.
His staff will be looking for a number of ways they can combine efforts to be more efficient.
