Because of unusually high landings of cobia in the 2015 fishing
season, the 2016 season will feature at least an early closure for the
recreational sector in federal waters. The exact date of the closure is not
yet known, as the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is currently
analyzing different management scenarios. NMFS will be releasing its
decision in early March 2016.
Beginning in 2011, all fisheries
existing in federal waters were required under the Magnuson-Stevens Act to
be regulated using annual catch limits (ACLs). An ACL is determined as an
amount of removals (measured by weight) that is less than or equal to the
overfishing limit and acceptable biological catch. This is designed to
ensure levels of fishing that do not lead to overfishing or cause the stock
to become overfished. As a result, cobia became a fishery managed using an
ACL system, with a stock ACL (commercial plus recreational) as well as
sector-specific ACLs.
Amendment 20B to the cobia fishery management
plan made a change so that, starting in 2015, the Atlantic stock of cobia
excluded Florida, meaning it stretched from Georgia northward to New York.
In 2015, the Atlantic stock (Georgia through New York) recreational ACL was
630,000 pounds, and the Atlantic stock commercial ACL was 60,000 pounds. A
preliminary estimate of landings for the Atlantic Stock recreational sector
was 1,540,775 pounds, with 862,281 pounds (56%) from Virginia’s recreational
sector. The total value represents landings that are 245% of the
recreational ACL and 231% of the stock’s ACL. Preliminary values for
Atlantic Stock commercial sector indicate 85% of its portion of the ACL was
landed in 2015. The accountability measures established by NMFS for the
fishery management plan for cobia requires that a 2016 recreational season
closure be set to prevent an overage of the ACL in 2016 (it will be based on
the harvest results of 2015). NMFS will announce a closure date for the
recreational sector, for federal waters, and states will need to establish
closures for state waters in order to comply with the provisions of the
Manguson-Stevens Act.
An upcoming opportunity for public comment on
this management issue is listed below:
South Atlantic Fishery
Management Council meeting on March 8th-9th at the Westin Jekyll Island in
Jekyll Island, GA. Please call the Council for more information (843-571-
4366).
Use this URL to find all of the materials for the SAFMC
briefing book on Cobia and the other agenda items:
http://safmc.net/SAFMC_03_2016CouncilMeeting
Public comment
opportunities at the upcoming SAFMC meeting:
(1) The South Atlantic
Fishery Management Council will hold a public comment session during the
week-long meeting on Wednesday, March 9th beginning at 5:30 p.m. This
comment session is for persons that are in attendance at the meeting.
(2) The Council meetings are live-streamed each day as they occur and
members of the public may register to listen to the discussions and
presentations via Citrix webinar. However, the public is not allowed to
provide comment as part of the webinar. The public may submit written
comments to the Council by sending them to Mike Collins, the Council’s
Administrative Officer via email to mike.collins@safmc.net with the Subject
Line “Cobia”.
(3) The Council’s Mackerel Committee will discuss cobia
issues, including future management options, when it meets on Thursday,
March 10th (see Tab 8). Should the Council decide to move forward with any
options, there will be additional opportunities for public comment through
scoping and public hearings.
Questions should be addressed to:
Kim Iverson
Public Information Officer
South Atlantic Fishery
Management Council
4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 201
N. Charleston, SC
29405
843/571-4366 or Toll Free 866/SAFMC-10
www.safmc.net