|
Coastal Migratory Pelagic Regulatory Amendments Emergency Rule The rule reduced TAC for Gulf group king mackerel from 14.4 MP to 5.2 MP. May 1986 Allowed charter boats to obtain commercial permits. For the 1986/87 season (July 1 - June 30) the amendment set TAC for Gulf group king mackerel at 2.9 MP with 0.93 MP commercial quota and 1.97 MP recreational allocation. The king mackerel bag limit was set at 2 fish for persons fishing from boats without a captain and crew and 3 fish for persons fishing from boats with a captain and crew (i.e., for-hire boats), the crew excluded. The commercial quota was allocated 6% for purse-seines, 64.5% for eastern zone (Florida) and 29% for western zone (AL-TX). The amendment also provided that the recreational and commercial fisheries would be closed when their allocation was taken. May 1987 For the 1987/88 season (July 1 - June 30) the amendment reduced TAC for Gulf group king mackerel to 2.2 MP with commercial quota of 0.7 MP and recreational allocation of 1.5 MP. The purse-seine allocation was set at zero. TAC for Gulf group Spanish mackerel was set at 2.5 MP with a commercial quota of 1.4 MP and recreational allocation for 1.1 MP. The bag limit for Spanish mackerel was set at 3 fish. May 1988 For the 1988/89 season the amendment set TAC for Gulf group king mackerel at 3.4 MP with commercial quota of 1.1 MP and recreational allocation 2.3 MP. The commercial quota was allocated 69% to eastern zone (FL) and 31% to western zone (AL-TX). The TAC for Gulf group Spanish mackerel was increased to 5.0 MP allocated 43% to recreational sector and 57% to commercial sector. The Spanish mackerel bag limit was set at 4 fish off Florida and 10 fish off AL-TX. May 1989 For the 1989/1990 season the amendment increased TAC for Gulf group king mackerel to 4.25 MP with commercial quota 1.36 MP and recreational allocation 2.89 MP. The bag limit remained unchanged. The TAC for Gulf group Spanish mackerel was increased to 5.25 MP. The allocation ratio between commercial (57%) and recreational (43%) remained unchanged as did the bag limit. May 1990 For the 1990/91 season the amendment left the TAC (4.25 MP) and bag limit for Gulf group king mackerel unchanged. The TAC (5.25 MP) for Gulf group Spanish mackerel was unchanged. The bag limits for Spanish mackerel were changed to 4 fish off FL, 3 fish off TX, and 10 Fish off AL-LA at the request of the states. May 1991 For the 1991/92 season the amendment increased TAC for Gulf group king mackerel to 5.75 MP with a 1.84 MP commercial quota and 3.91 MP recreational allocation. The king mackerel bag limit was modified to 2 fish off Florida and 2/3 AL-TX (See 1986/87 regulatory amendment for description). The TAC for Gulf group Spanish mackerel was increased to 8.6 MP and the bag limit modified to 3 fish off TX, 5 fish off FL, and 10 fish off AL-LA. The amendment also set the overfishing thresholds at 30% SPR (SSBR). May 1992 For the 1992/93 season the amendment increased TAC for Gulf group king mackerel to 7.8 MP with commercial quota of 2.50 MP and recreational allocation of 5.3 MP. The king mackerel bag limit was reduced to 2 fish per person including captain and crew of charter and head boats for the entire Gulf EEZ. The TAC for Gulf group Spanish mackerel remained at 8.6 MP. The bag limits were increased to 7 fish off TX, and 10 fish off FL-LA. The amendment deleted the requirement that the bag limits for Gulf group king and Spanish mackerels revert to zero when the allocations were projected to be harvested and the fisheries be closed. Emergency action added 259,000 pounds under 25-fish trip limit. May 1993 For the 1993/94 season the TAC and bag limits remained the same for Gulf group king mackerel. For the eastern zone (FL) commercial hook-and-line fisheries the trip limit for the FL east coast zone (FECZ) was set at 50 fish until 50% of the subquota was taken and then was reduced to 25 fish until the quota was taken. For the FL west coast zone (FWCZ) there was no trip limit until 75% of the subquota was taken then was reduced to 50 fish. The TAC and bag limits for Gulf group Spanish mackerel remained unchanged. May 1994 For the 1994/95 season the TAC and bag limits remained unchanged for Gulf group king mackerel. Commercial gill net boats fishing king mackerel in the eastern zone were limited to 25,000 pounds per trip. The TAC and bag limits for Gulf group Spanish mackerel remained unchanged. FECZ modified to 50 fish until 25% of subquota is taken. Emergency action added 300,100 pounds under 125-fish trip limit. May 1995 For the 1995/96 season the TAC and bag limits remained unchanged for Gulf group king and Spanish mackerels. The hook-and-line trip limit for the FWCZ of the eastern zone was set at 125 fish until 75% of the subquota was taken, then it became 50 fish. May 1996 For the 1996/97 season the TAC and bag limits remained unchanged for Gulf group king mackerel, except that the bag limit for captain and crew of charter and head boats was set at zero. The commercial hook-and-line trip limit for the FWCZ was set at 1,250 pounds per trip until 75% of the subquota was taken and then changed to 500 pounds per trip. FECZ set at 750 pounds then to 500 pounds when 75% taken. TAC for Gulf group Spanish mackerel was reduced to 7.0 MP and the bag limits remained unchanged. May 1997 For the 1997/98 season the TAC was increased to 10.6 MP for Gulf group king mackerel. The zero bag limit for captain and crew of charter and head boats was rescinded. The commercial hook-and-line trip limit for the FECZ was changed to 50 fish until the subquota was taken. The TAC and bag limits remained unchanged for Gulf group Spanish Mackerel. May 1998 For the 1998/99 season the amendment proposes to retain the TAC for the Gulf group king mackerel, but to set the bag limit for captain and crew of charter and head boats at zero. The size limit for king mackerel would increase to 24 inches (FL). The commercial king mackerel hook-and-line trip limit for the western zone (AL-TX) would be set at 3,000 pounds per trip. July 1999 The regulatory amendment for the 1999-2000 season proposed to retain TAC for Gulf group king mackerel at 10.6 million pounds. It also proposed to establish a 2-fish per person per day bag limit on Gulf group king mackerel for the captain and crew of for-hire vessels and retain this 2-fish bag limit for all other recreational fishermen; however, the captain and crew bag limit was rejected by NMFS. The fishing season for the commercial gill net fishery for Gulf group king mackerel was changed to open at 6 a.m. eastern standard time (EST) on the Tuesday following the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, with the following weekend open as long as the quota has not been taken and all subsequent weekends and holidays would be closed as long as the season remains open. Weekend and holiday closures would be from 6 a.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Monday EST (or Tuesday if a Monday holiday is involved), and during this period boats with a net on board must be tied to the dock. The TAC for Gulf group Spanish was changed from 7.0 million pounds to 9.1 million pounds, and the bag limit for Gulf group Spanish was increased from 10 to 15 fish per person per day. July 2000 The 2000-2001 regulatory amendment, implemented on April 30, 2001, reduced TAC from 10.6 MP tp 10.2 MP, provided a 2-fish bag limit for the captain and crew of for-hire vessels, and revised the trip limit for Gulf migratory group king mackeral in the northern area of the Eastern Zone (Miami-Dade through Volusia Counties, Florida) to remain at 50 fish until February 1. If the quota is not 75 percent filled as of February 1, then the trip limit will increase to 75 fish; if the quota is 75 percent filled or greater, then the trip limit will remain at 50 fish. |