By David Conway

June 12, Stuart, FL. In what has to be considered at least a small sliver of good news for anglers, red snapper fishing in Atlantic waters will remain open through this summer, according to officials interviewed at the South Atlantic Fishery Council’s week-long meetings that concluded today in Stuart, Florida.

During the meetings, in both public comment sessions and in written submissions to the Council, anglers and angler-rights organizations raised serious objections to both the Interim Rule and to Amendment 17--the rule to rewrite snapper and grouper regulations which the SAFMC continues to craft.

The Fishing Rights Alliance (FRA), the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), the newly-formed East Coast Fishing Section of the Southeastern Fisheries Association (SFA) and many private anglers and charter captains lodged serious grievances against the proposed closures.

Perhaps the biggest development out of the meetings regarding the snapper-grouper fishery came from a report commissioned by the East Coast Section of the SFA. In that report, fishery biologist Dr. Frank Hester raised significant questions about the methodology of the science underpinning the proposed closures. These questions are currently being addressed and examined the by SAFMC’s scientific committee.

“We will examine the questions raised by Dr. Hester’s report,” said Dr. Roy Crabtree, Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries Service and a member of the South Atlantic Council. “The results may or may not change the conclusions based on the science within SEDAR 15, the stock assessment document. But this process of review will not necessarily change the timing of either the Interim Rule or Amendment 17.”

In fact, the Interim Rule to close red snapper fishing may take effect later this year. According to Dr. Crabtree and other NOAA officials, at this time it appears likely that at some time this summer, The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will issue a Proposed Rule in the Federal Register soliciting public comment on the Interim Rule to close red snapper fishing. The comment period will be open for at least 30 days. It will then take NMFS an estimated 30 days to review the comments. If approved, a Final Rule would be published in the Federal Register with an implementation date for the red snapper closure. Generally, there is a 30-day cooling off period following the publication of a Final Rule to give time to advise the public of any change in regulations.

The final decision on the Interim Closure rests in the hands of the Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke, appointed by President Obama earlier this year. Anglers and interested parties may inform Sec. Locke of their opinions of the closure now. In the closing hours of the Stuart meetings, Dr. Crabtree told the SAFMC members:

“If indeed the red snapper fishery is closed, and especially if, under Amendment 17, bottom fishing is closed off the Southeast coast, we’re going to put people out of business. Understandably, people are worried, scared and panicked about this, and you can’t blame them for hurrying around in the last minutes trying to gather all the information that they can to counter these closures. Dr. Hester’s report raised a serious issue in the SEDAR—that of selectivity—that we hadn’t considered, and I think we’re in a stronger position now that we’re considering it.”

While some anglers and anglers-rights groups suggest that only a lawsuit will stop the Interim Rule and Amendment 17 from taking effect, many others see the continued delay in the implementation of the Interim Rule as good news.

Rick Ryals, FS Radio Show Director based in Jacksonville, the heart of red snapper country, drove 4 hours each way Tuesday night to make 4 minutes of comments to the SAFMC at the public session. Earlier today Ryals commented, “Some of my buddies say that all these closures are definitely going to happen, but to me, any delay in this process gives us more time to let them know what we think, and what we know. And I don’t think that all this is a done deal. We still have to participate and fight these closures.”

At the Stuart meetings, the Council continued its work on the longer term changes to the snapper and grouper fishery contained under Amendment 17, which includes alternatives that would close bottom fishing for all species off the Southeast coast. This week, the Council separated Amendment 17 into 2 separate amendments with Amendment 17A to address red snapper and Amendment 17B to address the other 9 species listed. According to Dr. Crabtree, the earliest that final action on Amendment 17A could be implemented would be at the Council’s December meeting. That would put the Final Rule in place by next summer.

Capt. Paul Nelson, of Finest Kind II Charters out of Ponce Inlet, FL, and a member of the SFA which commissioned the report by Dr. Hester, said, “What we have to keep in mind is that if Amendment 17 passes, there will be no more bottom fishing in waters deeper than 90 feet off our east coast. We’re fighting against the Interim Rule to close red snapper fishing right now, but we’re also planning and engaged in that big battle against Amendment 17.”

You can read more about the ongoing developments in red snapper and grouper regulations in Florida Sportsman magazine’s June and July issues and on the FS forum’s Conservation Section, www.floridasportsman.com.