Panel ponders tighter fishing limits

Fishermen say it's not necessary

Popular species of fish that scientists say are depleted by over-harvesting may be put under stricter limits by the federal council that regulates fishing from North Carolina to the Florida Keys.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is considering extending catch limits on snowy grouper, black sea bass and red porgy for a decade or longer. They say that would enable the populations to rebuild. The species were already under new federal regulations that took effect last year in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida to prevent overfishing.

Fisherman say the rules are unnecessary and potentially harmful. They say the science is too thin to confirm that the species are depleted, while tougher limits could hurt their livelihoods.

Meanwhile, a new report by the Marine Fish Conservation Network, a consortium of conservation groups, said overfishing remains a chronic problem in many U.S. fisheries, and the South Atlantic has the largest share of chronically overfished stocks in the nation. Of 49 stocks overfished for at least six years, 10 are in the South Atlantic, the report said.

"They've all been overfished at least nine years," said Sera Harold, southeast organizer for the Marine Fish Conservation Network.

The South Atlantic council has imposed quotas on commercial catches of about half of the species the conservation group said were in trouble, but is still finalizing total limits that will affect recreational anglers as well as commercial fisherman.

The council, which is meeting this week in Atlantic Beach, regulates both recreational and commercial fishing from three to 200 miles offshore.

Federal law requires the council to adopt plans to rebuild depleted fish stocks.

"The cuts that have come over the last several years have done a lot to reduce the fishing off of our coast," said Louis Daniel, director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.

Daniel said he thought some of the 73 species of snapper and grouper were overfished but said the stock surveys by scientists may overstate the magnitude of the problem.

"It's possible the stock assessments don't reflect reality of what we are seeing on the water," Daniel said. "I don't think anybody is saying snapper grouper stocks might not need protection. But the levels of cuts are extraordinarily high based on catch rates we're seeing."

The regulations, adopted in 2006, required sharp reductions in the commercial catches ranging from 31 to 66 percent, depending on the species. The rules also imposed limits on the pounds of fish hauled in during fishing trips. Once commercial fishermen within the four states catch a certain number of pounds of each species, fishing closes for the rest of the year.

"It's going to absolutely destroy the whole fishing community," said Jack Cox, a snapper grouper fisherman and fish dealer in Morehead City.

This week, the council is proposing to extend catch limits out years into the future as part of proposed rebuilding plans. It's also discussing whether to give recreational fishermen a bigger share of certain catches, which could pit commercial fishermen against sports anglers in months to come as the rules are finalized.

For snowy grouper, a large fish that lives in the deep sea, the council's preferred rebuilding plan involves reviving the stock slowly over 34 years. That would require the least drastic economic cuts to fishermen. As the species starts to recover, the allowed catch is projected to increase gradually starting in 2013.

Jeff Oden, who fishes for snowy grouper out of Hatteras, said 2006 was the best year he had had in the past decade.