PANAMA CITY — A proposed amendment to split the recreational red snapper sector has caused a split among anglers in the Gulf region.
The amendment, under consideration by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, proposes dividing the current recreational red snapper allocation between for-hire operators, which includes charter and head boats, and private recreational anglers who now share the same portion of the catch.
Under current regulations, the red snapper catch is split between just two sectors, with 51 percent allotted to commercial anglers and 49 percent to recreational anglers.
While most stakeholders agree something needs to be done to boost the number of fishing days in federal waters — this year’s recreational season was just nine days — the opinions on how to get there are divided.
“The main purpose of this is to address the fact that the for-hire share of the catch has gone way down over the last five years or so,” said Roy Crabtree, Southeast regional administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries. “That’s largely a result of state waters being opened up outside of the federal season.”
Despite a longer season in state waters this year, many charter boats were kept onshore due to a provision in the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the law that governs U.S. fisheries management, that says federal for-hire permit holders can fish only when federal waters are open.
“I think there’s general agreement among everyone that what we’re doing now is not working,” Crabtree said. “We need to find a different way to manage the fishery.”
If the Gulf Council chooses to move forward with sector separation, which would break out the roughly 1,300 boats that hold federal for-hire permits, it also would need to take action on how to split the quota and set the seasons. Additionally, the council will consider adopting an option for federal for-hire anglers to “opt out” and rejoin the private recreational sector.
Beginning next month, the Gulf Council will host a series of public scoping meetings on the controversial issue, with one set in Panama City on Aug. 12. Crabtree said the council will discuss sector separation at its next meeting in Biloxi, Miss., on Aug. 25-29, but it is unlikely to make a decision before an October meeting in Mobile, Ala.
While proponents of sector separation say it would give for-hire anglers more flexible seasons and better accountability, those in opposition see it as an attempt to further restrict access to the resource by potentially requiring fish tags or catch-share programs similar to those used in the commercial red snapper fishery.
Ultimately, the Magnuson-Stevens Act will dictate how long recreational anglers can fish, regardless of how many sectors are split. By law, the fishery must be shut down if the Gulf-wide recreational quota is met, even if one of the subsectors hasn’t met its quota.
The proponents
Panama City charter Capt. Billy Archer, a founding member of the Charter Fisherman’s Association (CFA), said sector separation has been a measure the organization has been pushing for the last six years.
“By having two separate sectors, boats like myself with a federal permit, we will have to become accountable,” Archer said of a simultaneous effort to require electronic log books on federal for-hire boats to better keep track of the fish being caught. “We’ll have to have tools on our boat and submit the number of fish we caught to National Marine Fisheries.”
Archer also fishes in the commercial sector, which operates under an individual fishing quota (IFQ) or “catch-share” program. The IFQ program dedicates a portion of the total catch to individuals or corporations that purchase the shares.
The concept of sector separation also has received support from some big environmental groups, including the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit advocacy group that provides funding to organizations that support its mission, including the CFA. During the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the CFA received a $161,000 grant from the EDF.
EDF spokesman Matt Smelser said it’s not uncommon for the organization to provide grants to groups with a common purpose.
“If you come to the table as an organization and want to explore ways to better manage the fish stock, we want to work with you,” Smelser said. “What Amendment 40 does is open up the possibility for charter businesses that provide access to individuals. This allows them to explore management plans that are the best for them. The bottom line is, nobody wants a nine-day federal season like we had in June.”
Gary Jarvis, president of the Destin Charter Boat Association, said his organization also has taken a proactive stance in support of the amendment, a move he said would create more accountability for the recreational sector.
“We have no choice but to do this,” said Jarvis, who owns Back Down 2 Fishing Charters. “We want to see something where everybody has a level playing field.”
Through sector separation, Jarvis said, charter boat operators would have a chance to explore ways to get out on the water more frequently. Options could include implementing an individual fishing quota program or a tag system, he said.
“The science is agreeing with us; we have plenty of allocation. It’s just the management plan doesn’t allow us to access it,” Jarvis said. “It’s just time for a new plan.”
The other side
Anglers on the other side of the argument see sector separation as a strategy to radically reduce the number of charter boats on the water by privatizing a public resource.
Chip Blackburn, captain of the charter boat Miss Mary out of Mexico Beach, said charter-for-hire anglers could be faced with high costs to participate in the fishery, from expensive individual fishing quotas or fish tags, ultimately pushing smaller businesses out of the fishery.
On the commercial side, the red snapper IFQ program implemented in 2007 did lead to a reduction in anglers.
A five-year report on the program published by NOAA and the Gulf Council last year showed the number of commercial anglers participating in the red snapper IFQ program had decreased by 25 percent by the end of 2011, and most of the anglers that dropped out of the program held a small percentage of shares.
However, the report also outlines a large number of small shareholders still in the fishery. By the end of 2011, only 18 accounts held more than 1.5 percent of the commercial red snapper shares.
The number of federally-permitted charter boats also has decreased over the last several years, with just 1,300 boats holding federal-for-hire permits in the Gulf, down about 20 percent since 2004, when a moratorium was placed on permit sales.
Blackburn said the EDF-funded groups like the CFA are not a good representation of the for-hire industry.
“They’re set up to sound like they represent the entire industry, but in reality they’re a very small minority,” Blackburn said. “They’re the ones that we have to fight against.”
Pam Anderson, operations manager at Capt. Anderson’s Marina in Panama City Beach, agreed that sector separation is not the answer to fixing the recent “economic tragedy” experienced by recreational fishing industry on the Gulf Coast.
Instead, Anderson challenged NOAA to remedy the situation by implementing a system to collect correct data on the red snapper fishery.
Anderson also is involved with other organizations that have taken a stance against sector separation, including the Panama City Boatman’s Association and the Recreational Fishing Alliance.
“We want to maintain an open fishery,” Anderson said. “Don’t charge us $10 to $20 a tag to go and catch a fish.”