Amendment No. 20A to the Fishery Management Plan for Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic (Mackerels). Country/Territory United States of America Territorial subdivision Texas Document type Miscellaneous Date 2013 Source FAO, FAOLEX Subject Fisheries Keyword Policy/planning Marine fisheries Fishery management and conservation Migratory species Marine fishes Fishing authorization Legal proceedings/administrative proceedings Total allowable catch Allocation/quota Authorization/permit Geographical area Americas, Arctic, East Pacific, North America, North Atlantic Abstract This Amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic consists of management actions on issues associated with coastal migratory pelagic (CMP) permits, jointly developed by the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils (Councils) and concerning sale of bag limit caught king and Spanish mackerel and the elimination or modification of the current income requirement for obtaining or renewing a commercial coastal migratory pelagics fishing permit. The need for the proposed actions is to achieve optimum yield using the best available data while ensuring the fishery resources are utilized efficiently and promoting safety at sea. Concerns have arisen that recreational sales of bag limit caught fish, which are counted toward commercial quotas, are contributing to early closures of the commercial sector. In addition, potential double counting of these fish could lead to erroneous landings estimates impacting stock assessment results. Thus, this Amendment explores alternatives to address bag limit sales. All fish harvested in the EEZ that are sold are considered commercial harvest and count towards a species’ commercial quota, whether or not the fisherman has a federal commercial permit. This includes fish caught and sold by commercial fishermen without a valid federal commercial permit, fish caught by recreational fishermen and sold by them or for-hire crew members, or fish donated to dealers during tournaments. The Councils are concerned that landings from trips by recreational fishermen that are sold may contribute significantly to the commercial quota and lead to early closures in the commercial sector. Prohibiting sale of fish caught under the bag limit should improve the accuracy of data by eliminating “double counting” – harvest from a single trip counting towards both the commercial quota and recreational allocation. This practice occurs when the same catches are reported through recreational surveys and commercial trip tickets and logbooks. Full text English Website gulfcouncil.org References - Legislation Amends Fishery Management Plan for Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic. Legislation | United States of America | 1983 Keyword: Policy/planning, Marine fisheries, Fishery management and conservation, Total allowable catch, Allocation/quota, Marine fishes, Migratory species, Size, Dispute settlement Source: FAO, FAOLEX