The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council has scheduled a series of scoping meetings to help define issues to be addressed in a new amendment to the Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan. The amendment will deal with possible changes to the management of gag, red grouper, greater amberjack, and gray triggerfish. Recent stock assessments indicate that revisions to management may be needed in these stocks' management.

Gag grouper were declared to be undergoing overfishing in October 2006. A fishing mortality rate reduction of 10 to 34 percent is needed to end overfishing. Red grouper were initially determined to be overfished and undergoing overfishing as of 1997. However, a rebuilding plan combined with a strong recruitment year class that occurred in 2000 has resulted in a stock that is currently above its maximum sustainable yield. As a result, a 15 percent increase in the total allowable catch of red grouper may be implemented. Greater amberjack have been under a rebuilding plan since 2003; however, a 2006 stock assessment concluded that this stock is not recovering as projected and new management measures are needed to end overfishing. Gray triggerfish were found to be subject to overfishing based on a 2006 stock assessment, and a 35 percent reduction in landings is necessary to end overfishing.

NOAA Fisheries, in collaboration with the Gulf Council, is developing a draft Environmental Impact Statement to describe and analyze management alternatives for these four stocks. Scoping will help to identify issues and a reasonable range of alternatives to address those issues. Alternatives could include changes in total allowable catch, size limits, bag limits, quotas, closed seasons or areas, or other measures to reduce fishing mortality and dead discards. Public meetings will be held in the following locations, beginning on March 19, 2007: Orange Beach, AL, Panama City, Naples and Madeira Beach, FL, Biloxi, MS, New Orleans, LA and Galveston, TX.
Copies of the scoping documents and related materials can be obtained by calling the Gulf Council at (813) 348-1630. For more information, check the Federal Register notice or contact Peter.Hood@noaa.gov.

NOAA Fisheries Service