Federal Fishery Managers Move Forward to Protect Spawning Areas
Spawning Special Management Zones proposed; other measures for blueline tilefish, dolphin, hogfish and more
Members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council held lengthy discussions on the proposed designation of areas to help protect spawning fish and associated habitat during their meeting last week in Hilton Head, South Carolina. After reviewing both written and public comment received during a second round of public hearings, the Council narrowed their preferred alternatives to five Spawning Special Management Zones (SMZs) as proposed in Amendment 36 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan. Of the eleven candidate sites included in the amendment, the Council selected the following sites as preferred: 1) a five square mile area off the coast of North Carolina known as the South Cape Lookout site; 2) a 3.1 square mile area off the coast of Georgetown, South Carolina called "Devil's Hole" or "Georgetown Hole"; 3) a 2.99 square mile artificial reef site off the coast of South Carolina known as Area 51; 4) a 2.99 square mile artificial reef site off the coast of South Carolina known as Area 53; and 5) a one square mile area off the east coast of the Florida Keys referred to as the "Warsaw Hole".
Fishing for species in the snapper grouper fishery management complex and anchoring would be prohibited within the proposed Spawning SMZs. However, fishermen would be allowed to troll for pelagic species such as dolphin, tuna, and billfish in the areas. Restricting bottom fishing is designed to help protect habitat and fish that gather there to spawn, resulting in the production of more eggs and larvae that could help recruitment of juvenile fish. The areas would also help reduce bycatch and bycatch mortality for snapper grouper species, including speckled hind and warsaw grouper, two species that have been candidates for listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
The Council reviewed pubic input regard