Sector Separation a Growing Threat

to Recreational Red Snapper Season

More light is being shed on the negative impacts of separating the recreational angling sector into "private boat angler" and "charter/for-hire" segments during the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting  this week in Alabama.

Coastal Conservation Association has long opposed "sector separation" because it makes recreational anglers compete against each other at a time when there seem to be fewer and fewer opportunities for anglers to pursue fish offshore. That fear has been confirmed by an analysis conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service that examined a variety of scenarios to determine what is likely to happen to the length of the recreational red snapper season if the sector is divided.

Two graphs in particular presented to the Gulf Council yesterday show a bleak future for the recreational red snapper season under sector separation:

Report evaluates 12 scenarios:•Scenarios 1-3 compare different allocation time periods;•Scenarios 4-5 evaluate different avg. weights;•Scenarios 2, 6-8 evaluate different state for-hire landing %;•Scenarios 9-11 evaluate different participation trends;•Scenario 12 includes user-defined allocation

"A study by Texas A&M University in 2009 found that the vast majority of economic value from the red snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico comes from  recreational private boat anglers. Sector separation caters to one of the least beneficial sectors at the expense of the biggest economic engine. It's ludicrous to even consider it," says Chester Brewer, chairman of the CCA National Government Relations Committee. "The simple answer is that there would be no desire for sector separation if we had adequate allocation for these fisheries in the first place, and the allocation problem is not going to be fixed through a management scheme that further slices up the pie."

There is still time for the public to make its voice heard against the concept of shortening the recreational season so that red snapper can be reserved for selected boats in the charter/for-hire sector. Send your comments to info@gulfcouncil.org and urge the Gulf Council to reject sector separation as a management tool and instead focus its efforts on proper allocation of America's red snapper resource.

For the latest information on how sector separation and catch shares are creeping into the Gulf fisheries management system, click the link below:

Despite CCA opposition, advisory panel takes step toward catch shares

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