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Pew Statement Regarding Vote on the Long-Term Red Snapper Recovery Plan

June 9, 2010

Orlando, Fla. – Holly Binns, manager of the Pew Environment Group’s Campaign to End Overfishing in the Southeast, issued the following statement today in response to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s vote on the long-term red snapper recovery plan. The plan is known as Amendment 17A to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan.

“The South Atlantic Council deserves credit for taking a significant step toward putting red snapper on the road to recovery. The red snapper fishing moratorium and closed ocean area are essential for a species that has plummeted to just 3 percent of healthy population levels and has been fished at unsustainable rates for more than 40 years.

“We understand this is a difficult time for some fishermen now, but this plan will help secure future fishing opportunities and a healthy ocean ecosystem that benefit tourism and all of our coastal communities.

“We’ll see if the plan is on target and what adjustments may be needed to sufficiently rebuild this iconic species when a new red snapper study is completed in December.

“Our hope is that red snapper rebound rapidly and that sustainable fishing can resume when the species has made good progress towards full recovery.”

BACKGROUND:

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council voted 9 to 4 Wednesday morning to approve a red snapper fishing moratorium and to close 4,827 square miles of the ocean off Florida and Georgia to fishing at depths from 98 to 240 feet. The size of the ocean closure was reduced, and the majority of the closure will be off Florida’s coast, where more red snapper are caught accidentally when fishermen target other deep-dwelling species. Even if thrown back, many red snapper die.

The overall red snapper fishing moratorium affects federal waters from North Carolina to the east coast of Florida and extends the current one-year moratorium, which expires December 5.

A new red snapper study is scheduled for completion in December, and the Council could then make adjustments to the long-term plan based on the findings. The long-term plan is not expected to go into effect for at least several months and will require final approval from the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Although total recovery could take 35 years, red snapper fishing could resume much earlier and closed ocean areas might re-open as the red snapper show signs of recovery.

The Pew Environment Group is the conservation arm of The Pew Charitable Trusts, a non-governmental organization that applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improving public policy, informing the public and stimulating civic life.

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