Plans include recreational fisheries, too 



The South Atlantic Fishery Man- 

 agement Council has seven plans in the 

 works right now. But it looks as though 

 it may be next spring before any of the 

 plans takes effect. 



The Fishery Management Plans be- 

 ing developed are for: the snapper- 

 grouper complex, king and Spanish 

 mackerel, billfish, swordfish, precious 

 corals, spiny lobster and calico 

 scallops. Work will begin late this sum- 

 mer on a rock and royal shrimp plan. 

 Once plans are completed, they face 

 public hearings and a 200- to 300-day 

 waiting period for completion of 

 federal procedures. 



The one regulation common to all 

 the plans under consideration is man- 

 datory reporting of catch. Some form 

 of reporting likely will be required for 

 all species for which there is a plan. 

 While no final decisions have been 

 made, it looks as though full reporting 

 of catch will be required for commer- 

 cial and commercial recreational 

 vessels such as head or charter boats. 



In the case of recreational fishing, 

 the reporting likely will involve sam- 

 pling. A portion of those recreational 

 fishermen who indicate at the time of 

 licensing that they fish saltwater will 



FCMAs building blocks 



FCMA — Fears of stock depletion led 

 Congress to pass the Fishery Conserva- 

 tion and Management Act of 1976. The 

 act authorizes management of fishery 

 resources from three to 200 miles off 

 the US coast. It states that US fish- 

 ermen will get first crack at allowable 

 catches within that zone and that sur- 

 pluses may be allotted to foreign 

 vessels. 



FCZ — The Fishery Conservation 

 Zone is the area covered by the act. It 

 includes the waters three to 200 miles 

 out at sea. Not included is the 

 territorial sea which is the area within 

 three miles of shore where individual 

 states have jurisdiction. 



Regional fishery management 



councils — Eight regional councils are 

 charged with implementing the 

 FCMA. Representatives from each 

 state in a region include mandatory 

 state and federal officials as well as ap- 

 pointed members. The Secretary of 

 Commerce has final approval of the 

 Fishery Management Plans which the 

 councils draw up. Plans are drawn up 

 to manage individual species within 

 each region. 



Optimum yield — The quota that the 

 council arrives at after considering 

 biological, socio-economic and ecologi- 

 cal information on a given fishery is the 

 optimum yield. It is the crux of the 

 Fishery Management Plan. Optimum 

 yield is then allotted to domestic and 

 sometimes foreign fishermen. 



be required to report their catches for a 

 given period. While the licensing or 

 permitting details have not been 

 worked out, Jackson Davis of the 

 South Atlantic council staff says the 



council can require permits for any 

 vessels fishing in the Fishery Conserva- 

 tion Zone. 



Additional requirements may apply 

 to both commercial and recreational 

 fishermen and may include: size limita- 

 tions on catch; gear and season limita- 

 tions; and quotas. Where quotas are 

 set, according to Ernie Premetz, ex- 

 ecutive director of the South Atlantic 

 management council, they generally 

 maintain the status quo and do not 

 limit existing fishing effort. But when 

 the quota or optimum yield is reached, 

 a fishery may be closed for the season. 

 Size limitations will affect current fish- 

 ing practices somewhat, Premetz adds. 



Besides being affected by the actions 

 of the South Atlantic Fishery Man- 

 agement Council, fishermen from the 

 region who fish off the coasts of other 

 states will be subject to the regulations 

 of other councils. For example, the 

 New England council will be develop- 

 ing a sea scallop plan and the mid- 

 Atlantic council a river herring plan. 

 North Carolina fishermen participate 

 in both those fisheries to the north. In 

 addition, the mid-Atlantic council is 

 considering drawing up a bluefish plan. 

 Hearings will be held on that subject 

 this spring. 



Thousands of pounds of fish are caught aboard head boats yearly 



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