(FEIS) for Red Snapper Allocation Amendment 28 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef

328 Pages·2015·5.99 MB·English

12/15/15

Red Snapper Allocation

Final Amendment 28
to the Fishery Management Plan for
the Reef Fish Resources
of the Gulf of Mexico

Including Environmental Impact Statement,
Fishery Impact Statement, Regulatory Impact Review,
and Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis

August 2015

This is a publication of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council Pursuant to National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration Award No. NA10NMF4410011.
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Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Amendment 28
Environmental Impact Statement Cover Sheet

Red Snapper Allocation Amendment 28 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish
Resources of the Gulf of Mexico, including a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS),
Fishery Impact Statement, Regulatory Impact Review, and Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis.

Abstract:
This FEIS is prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act to assess the
environmental impacts associated with a regulatory action. The FEIS analyzes the impacts of a
reasonable range of alternatives intended to evaluate changing the current commercial:
recreational red snapper allocation of 51:49 percent, respectively. The purpose of this action is
to reallocate the red snapper harvest consistent with the 2014 red snapper assessment update to
ensure the allowable catch and recovery benefits are fairly and equitably allocated between the
commercial and recreational sectors to achieve optimum yield.

Responsible Agencies:

National Marine Fisheries Service Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management
(Lead Agency) Council
Southeast Regional Office 2203 North Lois Avenue, Suite 1100
263 13th Avenue South Tampa, Florida 33607
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701 813-348-1630
727-824-5305 813-348-1711 (fax)
727-824-5308 (fax) http://www.gulfcouncil.org
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov Contact: Assane Diagne
Contact: Peter Hood [email protected]
[email protected]

Type of Action

( ) Administrative ( ) Legislative
( ) Draft (X) Final

Filing Dates with EPA
Notice of intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact statement published: November 9,
2013 (allocation)
Draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) filed with EPA: May 29, 2015
DEIS comment period ended: July 20, 2015
EPA comments received on DEIS: July 16, 2015

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FEIS TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ x
Purpose and Need ........................................................................................................................... 4
Management Alternatives ............................................................................................................... 6
Affected Environment ................................................................................................................... 19
Environmental Consequences ....................................................................................................... 77
Cumulative Effects Analysis (CEA) ............................................................................................. 92
List of Preparers .......................................................................................................................... 130
List of Agencies, Organizations and Persons to whom a Copy of the EIS was sent .................. 131
Index……………………………………………………………………………………………151
Appendices……………………………………..…………………………………………….…153
Appendix D includes:
 Summary of scoping comments received by NOAA Fisheries on the Notice of Intent to
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
 Comment Letter on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) from the
Environmental Protection Agency
 Response to comments from the Environmental Protection Agency on the DEIS for
Amendment 40
 Response to Comments from the Public on the DEIS for Amendment 40

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ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS DOCUMENT

ABC acceptable biological catch
ACL annual catch limit
ALS Accumulated Landings System
AM accountability measure
Committee Reef Fish Committee
Council Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council
DEIS Draft Environmental Impact Statement
EEZ exclusive economic zone
EFH Essential Fish Habitat
EA Environmental Assessment
EIS Environmental Impact Statement
EJ Environmental Justice
ESA Endangered Species Act
FEIS Final Environmental Impact Statement
FMP Fishery Management Plan
FTE full-time equivalent
HBS Southeast Headboat Survey
IFQ individual fishing quota
LAPP Limited Access Privilege Program
Magnuson-Stevens Act Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
MRFSS Marine Recreational Fisheries Survey and Statistics
MRIP Marine Recreational Information Program
NEPA National Environmental Policy Act
NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
OFL overfishing limit
PDF probability density function
RFFA reasonably foreseeable future action
RQ regional quotient
SAV submerged aquatic vegetation
SEAMAP Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program
Secretary Secretary of Commerce
SEDAR Southeast Data Assessment and Review
SEFSC Southeast Fisheries Science Center
SERO Southeast Regional Office of NMFS
SESSC Socioeconomic Scientific and Statistical Committee
SSBR spawning stock biomass per recruit
SSC Scientific and Statistical Committee
SPR spawning potential ratio
TAC total allowable catch
TL total length
TPWD Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

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VEC valued environmental components
VOC volatile organic compounds
ww whole weight

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Environmental Impact Statement Cover Sheet ................................................................................ i
FEIS Table of Contents ................................................................................................................... ii
Abbreviations Used in this Document ........................................................................................... iii
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix
Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ x
Fishery Impact Statement ............................................................................................................ xvi
Chapter 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Background .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Purpose and Need ................................................................................................................. 4
1.3 History of Management ........................................................................................................ 5
Chapter 2. Management Alternatives ............................................................................................ 7
2.1 Allocation of Red Snapper .................................................................................................... 7
Chapter 3. Affected Environment ................................................................................................ 19
3.1 Description of the Red Snapper Component of the Reef Fish Fishery ............................... 19
3.2 Description of the Physical Environment .......................................................................... 27
3.3 Description of the Biological Environment ....................................................................... 30
3.4 Description of the Social Environment .............................................................................. 47
3.4.1 Fishing Communities ................................................................................................... 53
3.4.2 Environmental Justice Considerations ........................................................................ 60
3.5 Description of the Economic Environment........................................................................ 64
3.5.1 Commercial Sector....................................................................................................... 64
3.5.2 Recreational Sector ...................................................................................................... 68
3.6 Description of the Administrative Environment ................................................................. 75
3.6.1 Federal Fishery Management ....................................................................................... 75
3.6.2 State Fishery Management ........................................................................................... 76
Chapter 4. Environmental Consequences .................................................................................... 77
4.1 Action – Allocation of Red Snapper ................................................................................... 77
4.1.1 Direct and Indirect Effects on the Physical Environment ............................................ 77
4.1.2 Direct and Indirect Effects on the Biological Environment ......................................... 79
4.1.3 Direct and Indirect Effects on the Social Environment ............................................... 82
4.1.4 Direct and Indirect Effects on the Economic Environment ......................................... 87

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4.1.5 Direct and Indirect Effects on the Administrative Environment ................................. 91
4.2. Cumulative Effects Analysis (CEA) .................................................................................. 92
Chapter 5. Regulatory Impact Review ....................................................................................... 123
5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 123
5.2 Problems and Objectives .................................................................................................. 123
5.3 Description of Fisheries .................................................................................................... 123
5.4 Impacts of Management Measures ................................................................................... 123
5.4.1 Action: Retain a Portion of the 2016 Commercial Red Snapper Quota ................... 123
5.5 Public and Private Costs of Regulations .......................................................................... 124
5.6 Determination of Significant Regulatory Action ............................................................. 124
Chapter 6. Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis ......................................................................... 125
6.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 125
6.2 Statement of the need for, objective of, and legal basis for the proposed action ............. 125
6.3 Description and estimate of the number of small entities to which the proposed action
would apply ...................................................................................................................... 126
6.4 Description of the projected reporting, record-keeping and other compliance requirements
of the proposed action, including an estimate of the classes of small entities which will be
subject to the requirement and the type of professional skills necessary for the preparation
of the report or records ..................................................................................................... 127
6.5 Identification of all relevant federal rules, which may duplicate, overlap or conflict with
the proposed action ........................................................................................................... 127
6.6 Significance of economic impacts on a substantial number of small entities .................. 127
6.7 Description of the significant alternatives to the proposed action and discussion of how
the alternatives attempt to minimize economic impacts on small entities ....................... 128
Chapter 7. List of Preparers ....................................................................................................... 130
Chapter 8. List of Agencies, Organizations and Persons to whom a Copy of the FEIS was sent
..................................................................................................................................................... 131
Chapter 9. References ................................................................................................................ 132
Chapter 10. Index ....................................................................................................................... 151
Appendix A. Other Applicable Law .......................................................................................... 153
Appendix B. Bycatch Practicability Analysis ............................................................................ 159
Appendix C. Summary of Habitat Utilization by Life History Stage for Species in the Reef Fish
FMP............................................................................................................................................. 187
Appendix D. Summaries of Public Comments Received and Responses to Comments on the
Draft Envirionmental Impact Statement (DEIS) ......................................................................... 190
Appendix E. Fishery Allocation Policy ..................................................................................... 248

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Appendix F. Current Federal Regulations for Gulf of Mexico Recreational Red Snapper
Management ................................................................................................................................ 251
Appendix G. Economic Analysis of Red Snapper Allocation Alternatives For Amendment 28 to
the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fmp ............................................................................................. 260
Appendix H. Sensitivity Runs to Evaluate the Effect of Recalibrated Recreational Removals
and Recreational Selectivity ....................................................................................................... 290
Appendix I. Timeline for Amendment 28.................................................................................. 306

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1.1. Gulf of Mexico red snapper acceptable biological catch (ABC) .............................. 3
Table 2.1.1. Red snapper average percentages landed by the commercial and recreational
sectors. .......................................................................................................................................... 12
Table 2.1.2. Recreational and commercial red snapper landings, in million pounds whole weight
and in percent of the total landings. .............................................................................................. 13
Table 2.1.4. Commercial and recreational red snapper allocations (mp, whole weight) based on
2016-2017 red snapper quotas (total ACLs). ................................................................................ 16
Table 3.1.1. Recreational red snapper landings in 2012 by state and mode. .............................. 19
Table 3.1.2. Red snapper landings and overage/underage by sector, 1986-2014. ...................... 22
Table 3.1.3. Red snapper recreational landings vs. allocation .................................................... 24
Table 3.1.4. Commercial red snapper harvest vs. days open, by sector, 1986-2014. ................. 27
Table 3.3.1. Average depth fished and estimated discard mortality rates of red snapper by sector
during the closed and open seasons in the eastern and western Gulf. The associated discard
mortality estimates for the recreational and commercial sector listed are based on use of circle
hooks and the venting tool requirement. ....................................................................................... 32
Table 3.3.2. SSC projections for red snapper OFL and ABC 2015-2017 ................................... 33
Table 3.3.3. Red snapper overfishing level (OFL) yield streams and equilibrium yield for
several allocations of recreational harvest and a target of 26% spawning potential ratio (SPR) by
2032............................................................................................................................................... 34
Table 3.3.4. Red snapper acceptable biological catch (ABC) yield streams and equilibrium yield
for several allocations of recreational harvest and a target of 26% spawning potential ratio (SPR)
by 2032.......................................................................................................................................... 35
Table 3.3.2. Species of the Reef Fish FMP grouped by family. ................................................. 38
Table 3.4.1.1. Percentage of total recreational red snapper landings by state for 2013. ............. 56
Table 3.4.1.2. Average community rank by total number of reef fish charter permits and divided
by community population (SERO 2012). ..................................................................................... 58
Table 4.2.1. Number of Gulf of Mexico reef fish commercial (landing at least one pound of reef
fish), for-hire, and historical captain permits by year.* .............................................................. 100
Table 4.2.2. Number of Gulf of Mexico reef fish commercial trips catching at least one pound
of reef fish and the number of offshore angler trips for the charter and private angler components
..................................................................................................................................................... 101
Table 4.2.3. The cause and effect relationship of fishing and regulatory actions for red snapper
within the time period of the CEA. ............................................................................................. 108
Table 4.2.4. VECs considered, consolidated, or not included for further evaluation. .............. 110

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