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Coast Guard seizes 1,595 pounds of illegal red snapper
Published onThe Coast Guard interdicted four lanchas, detained 11 Mexican fishermen, and seized approximately 1,595pounds of illegally caught red snapper and nine sharks in federal waters off southern Texas on Thursday. Coast Guard Station South Padre Island boat crews in coordination withCoast Guard Sector Corpus Christi Command Center watch standers,Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi aircrews, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection located and stopped a total of 11Mexican fishermen engaged in illegal fishing north of the Maritime Boundary Line. After interdicting the lanchas, Coast Guard personnel seized approximately 1,595pounds of red snapper and nine sharks, along with fishing gear and highflyers on board the vessel. Coast Guard crews took the men into custody, brought them ashore and transferred them to U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel for further processing. Photo by USCG/ Petty Officer 3rd Class Perry Shirzad "Our crews will not pull back from ...
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Fishermen push for better red snapper management
Published onRed snapper populations in the South Atlantic are once again a topic of heated debate, with potential implications for the commercial fishing industry. While recreational anglers and policymakers often dominate the region, the concerns of commercial harvesters, who depend on sustainable stocks for their livelihoods, must not be overlooked. Recent legislative efforts, including introducing the South Atlantic Great Red Snapper Count Act, aim to reassess population data for red snapper in the region. The act, sponsored by U.S. Rep. John Rutherford, Maria Elvira Salazar, and Austin Scott, seeks to address discrepancies between current stock assessments and anecdotal reports from fishermen. According to The St. Augustine Record, the bill is rooted in concerns that existing data underrepresents red snapper abundance, potentially restricting fishing opportunities unnecessarily. For commercial fishermen, such restrictions have a tangible impact. NOAA Fisheries recent assessments confirm that while red snapper populations are recovering, they remain under a ...
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U.S. Treasury Department sanctions Gulf Cartel members for illegal fishing
Published onIncessant poaching by Mexican fishermen off Texas is directly tied to the Gulf Cartel and its other criminal trafficking in narcotics and human smuggling, U.S. Treasury Department officials said in announcing sanctions against five cartel operatives. The sanctions seek to block transactions and property transfers between the targeted cartel members and U.S. citizens. Illegal fishing operations in U.S. Gulf of Mexico territorial waters typically target snapper and shark species, smuggling their catch from off Texas back to fishing camps in Mexico and often trans-shipment to U.S. buyers, according to Treasury officials. Todays action highlights how transnational criminal organizations like the Gulf Cartel rely on a variety of illicit schemes like IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing to fund their operations, along with narcotics trafficking and human smuggling, said Bradley T. Smith, the Treasury department's acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. Smith said ...
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$2M awarded to improve red snapper data
Published onToday,the Biden-Harris Administration and NOAAannounced they will award approximately $2 million inInflation Reduction Actfunds to collect data and improve modeling through partnerships with the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies at the University of Miami. These partnerships are critical to NOAA Fisheries work to improve scientific data and management decisions for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. Collecting more fisheries data will enable NOAA Fisheries and state partners to better understand and adapt to the impacts of climate change, increase data reliability, and adjust management decisions that will support red snapper populations. This $2 million investment, made possible thanks to President Bidens historic Inflation Reduction Act, will boost NOAAs ability to support red snapper populations by expanding scientific partnerships that improve data collection and help us understand and mitigate the impacts of climate change on fisheries in coastal regions ...
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Coast Guard rounds up five lanchas, 23 Mexican fishermen off Texas
Published onCoast Guard boat crews stopped five Mexican boats and crews fishing illegally in U.S. waters off southern Texas on Sept. 29, seizing 900 pounds of red snapper and sharks. The crews from Coast Guard Station South Padre Island and the Coast Guard cutter Edgar Culbertson, coordinating with aircrews from Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi, located and stopped 23Mexican fishermen illegally fishing north of the Maritime Boundary Line. Mexican crews frequently invade U.S. waters using lanchas, fiberglass skiffs 20 to 30 feet long with slender hull profiles and single outboard motors that can run at speeds over 30 mph. Lanchas are also frequently used to smuggle narcotics. After interdicting the lanchas, Coast Guard personnel seized 900pounds of red snapper and shark, along with fishing gear and highflyers on board the vessels, according to a Coast Guard statement. Coast Guard crews detained the Mexican fishermen, brought them ashore, and ...
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NOAA preparing plan to end red snapper overfishing
Published onDuring the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (South Atlantic Council) meeting being held in Charleston, South Carolina, NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Administrator, Andy Strelcheck, told South Atlantic Council members the agency is preparing a Secretarial Amendment to end overfishing of red snapper. Read more
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Commercial reef fishing training begins Sept. 30 in Galveston
Published onFree registration is open for a week-long, hands-on training program at Galveston, Texas for individuals interested in a career in commercial fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico Commercial Fisherman Program provides a pathway for committed, hardworking men and women to pursue a career in commercial fishing, according to an announcement from Texas Sea Grant. This unique-to-the-Gulf program will cultivate the next generation of commercial fishermen through hands-on training and networking with seasoned Gulf fisheries leaders. The real-world experience provided in the program will aid participants as they build businesses that carry on the cultural heritage of our fishing communities and provide high quality, sustainable seafood to our nation. An online registration form is available to sign up for the Galveston program to be held Monday, Sept. 30 through Friday, Oct. 4. The application deadline is Sept.15.We are ...
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April illegal snapper catch tops 1,600 pounds off Texas
Published onBoat crews with Coast Guard Station South Padre Island and air crews with Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi have been busy in April. In all, authorities have reported seizing 1,650 pounds of illegally caught red snapper from Mexican fishermen this month and brought federal charges against one lancha captain who tried to outrun them to the safety of Mexican waters. Read more
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Species most vulnerable to climate change
Published onNOAA Fisheries' two new assessments of climate vulnerability for fish species and invertebrates in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic were shared at the end of 2023. While all the species assessed are projected to face significant exposure to climate-driven changes, some are expected to be much more susceptible than others. John Quinlan, the lead author of the Gulf of Mexico assessment, shared, "These areas are projected to become substantially warmer, saltier, more acidic, and less oxygenated. This means that multiple stressors could operate across the Southeast, and we'll need to be aware as the system shifts." Climate vulnerability assessments are critical in enhancing stock assessments for marine species and guiding fisheries management strategies. They also serve as valuable tools in pinpointing measures to bolster specific species' resilience against climate change impacts. In the Gulf, several species stand out as particularly vulnerable, including sharks, rays, groupers, oysters ...
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Scholarship fund honors Gulf of Mexico fisherman Wayne Werner
Published onThe late Wayne Werner, a board member of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders Alliance, is being honored with the establishment of theWayne Werner Memorial Scholarship Fund. Wayne was a skilled fisherman and a visionary who believed deeply in the importance of building bridges between fishermen and scientists, the alliance said in a March 22 statement. His commitment to bridging the gap between the commercial fishing and scientific communities was instrumental in advancing sustainable fishing practices and preserving our marine ecosystems for future generations. Werner, a well-known Gulf snapper fisherman and 2012 National Fisherman Highliner, often worked with scientists at universities and with the National Marine Fisheries Service. According to the alliance statement, He also staunchly advocated that science be placed first in management decisions and even testified before Congress on the important role Individual Fishing Quota programs played in creating a safer, more sustainable commercial reef fish ...
Read MoreCommentary: Alabama red snapper poorly served by NOAA
Published onDuring my 21 years as an Alabama representative to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, Ive seen just about every type of fisheries management dilemma imaginable. Our Gulf fish stocks are subject to myriad pressures and Council members must often grapple with profoundly complicated problems in their efforts to manage our marine resources in a sustainable fashion. Read more
Read MoreFive lancha crews nabbed in one day off south Texas
Published onThe Coast Guard and Texas Parks Wildlife Department (TPWD) interdicted five Mexican lancha fishing crews and seized about 2,640 pounds of illegally caught red snapper in waters subject to U.S. law enforcement off southern Texas Dec. 9. Boat crews from Coast Guard Station South Padre Island and the Coast Guard fast response cutter Jacob Poroo worked with aircrews from the Coast Guard air station at Corpus Christi, Texas, to locate and stop four lanchas carrying 16 Mexican fishermen who were fishing illegally north of the U.S.-Mexico Maritime Boundary Line. The Coast Guard crews seized 2,090 pounds of red snapper, along with fishing gear and high flyers on the boats. Coast Guard cdetained the Mexican fishermen, brought them ashore, and transferred the detainees to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for further processing. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing depletes our precious natural resources, disrupts our economy ...
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NMFS to pay $160,000 legal fees to settle Gulf charter captains’ lawsuit
Published onThe National Marine Fisheries Service must pay attorney fees for Gulf of Mexico charter captains who successfully challenged the agencys requirement for them to pay for vessel monitoring systems. The settlement approved by the U.S. Fifth District Court of Appeals calls for the U.S. Department of Commerce and NMFS to pay $160,000 for lawyers of the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a non-profit legal foundation who represented lead plaintiff Allen Walburn, a Naples, Fla., charter operator and five other Gulf captains. The appeals court Feb. 23 decision struck down the VMS monitoring requirement implemented by the Department of Commerce and the other defendants under the Administrative Procedure Act and strongly implied it was prohibited as an unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, wrote John Vecchione, senior litigation counsel for the NCLA, in a Dec. 8 email to the captains. Its going to ...
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2023 Highliners at a glance: Jimmy Hull
Published onSince the age of 10, Jimmy Hull has had a passion for being on the water. Jimmy had been exploring the waterways around the Halifax River and Ponce Inlet as a young teenager, and by 20 years old, he became a commercial fisherman and obtained his captains license to run his own charter business. He has been committed to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council by attending most meetings. He is a member and chair of the Snapper/ Grouper Advisory Panel, as well as the NOAA Highly Migratory Species Panel. When Jimmy isnt fishing, he is focused on his wholesale, retail, and restaurant called Hull's Seafood, as well as participating in cooperative research projects federally and within Florida. He has made some waves along the South Atlantic coast by being informed and making a positive difference in the fishery management process. He has worked tirelessly to inform better the ...
Read More2023 commercial red snapper season closed
Published onThe North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries and NOAA Fisheries announced that the commercial harvest of red snapper in state and federal waters of the South Atlantic was closed on August 18, 2023. All sales and purchases of red snapper will be prohibited during the commercial closure. The North Carolina Proclamation FF23-053 states that it is unlawful to possess red snapper taken from waters under the jurisdiction of North Carolina or the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Unless specified otherwise, the fishery will re-open July 8, 2024. According to NOAAs Fisheries Bulletin FB23-053 all harvest of possession of red snapper in or from South Atlantic federal waters is now prohibited, as the recreational fishing season is also closed for 2023. The 2023 commercial catch limit was set at 124,815 pounds, and commercial landed were projected to reach the limit by Aug. 18. Accountability measures stated that ...
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BOEM to seek fisheries funds for Gulf of Mexico wind leases
Published onThe first offshore wind power lease auction in the Gulf of Mexico will offer a 10 percent credit to developers who contribute of a fisheries compensation fund for commercial and charter fishermen. The Aug. 29 auction by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will offer a 102,480-acre area offshore Lake Charles, La., and two areas off Galveston, Texas one comprising 102,480 acres and the other 96,786 acres. If developed to full potential, the lease areas could hold turbine arrays with nameplate ratings totaling 3.7 gigawatts of electricity, according to BOEM. In planning the Gulf wind energy areas, BOEM excluded highly productive fishing areas after consultations with the Southern Shrimp Alliance and other fishing interests. With stipulations that BOEM has set for the bidding process, the inclusion of a compensatory mitigation fund is a sound strategy, the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders Alliance said Monday ...
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