Seafood Watch Seafood Report Red porgy Pagrus pagrus (Image © Dianne Rome Peebles) Final Report August 14, 2008 Casson Trenor Independent Consultant Seafood Watch® Red Porgy Report August 14, 2008 About Seafood Watch® and the Seafood Reports Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch® program evaluates the ecological sustainability of wild-caught and farmed seafood commonly found in the United States marketplace. Seafood Watch® defines sustainable seafood as originating from sources, whether wild-caught or farmed, which can maintain or increase production in the long-term without jeopardizing the structure or function of affected ecosystems. Seafood Watch® makes its science-based recommendations available to the public in the form of regional pocket guides that can be downloaded from the Internet (seafoodwatch.org) or obtained from the Seafood Watch® program by emailing [email protected]. The program’s goals are to raise awareness of important ocean conservation issues and empower seafood consumers and businesses to make choices for healthy oceans. Each sustainability recommendation on the regional pocket guides is supported by a Seafood Report. Each report synthesizes and analyzes the most current ecological, fisheries and ecosystem science on a species, then evaluates this information against the program’s conservation ethic to arrive at a recommendation of “Best Choices”, “Good Alternatives” or “Avoid”. The detailed evaluation methodology is available upon request. In producing the Seafood Reports, Seafood Watch® seeks out research published in academic, peer-reviewed journals whenever possible. Other sources of information include government technical publications, fishery management plans and supporting documents, and other scientific reviews of ecological sustainability. Seafood Watch® Fisheries Research Analysts also communicate regularly with ecologists, fisheries and aquaculture scientists, and members of industry and conservation organizations when evaluating fisheries and aquaculture practices. Capture fisheries and aquaculture practices are highly dynamic; as the scientific information on each species changes, Seafood Watch’s sustainability recommendations and the underlying Seafood Reports will be updated to reflect these changes. Parties interested in capture fisheries, aquaculture practices and the sustainability of ocean ecosystems are welcome to use Seafood Reports in any way they find useful. For more information about Seafood Watch® and Seafood Reports, please contact the Seafood Watch® program at Monterey Bay Aquarium by calling 1-877-229-9990. Disclaimer Seafood Watch® strives to have all Seafood Reports reviewed for accuracy and completeness by external scientists with expertise in ecology, fisheries science and aquaculture. Scientific review, however, does not constitute an endorsement of the Seafood Watch® program or its recommendations on the part of the reviewing scientists. Seafood Watch® is solely responsible for the conclusions reached in this report. Seafood Watch® and Seafood Reports are made possible through a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. 1 Seafood Watch® Red Porgy Report August 14, 2008 Table of Contents I. Terminology 3 II. Executive Summary 4 III. Introduction 6 IV. Analysis of Seafood Watch® Sustainability Criteria for Wild-caught Species Criterion 1: Inherent Vulnerability to Fishing Pressure 11 Criterion 2: Status of Wild Stocks 14 Criterion 3: Nature and Extent of Bycatch 17 Criterion 4: Effect of Fishing Practices on Habitats and Ecosystems 19 Criterion 5: Effectiveness of the Management Regime 20 V. Overall Evaluation and Seafood Recommendation 24 VI. References 27 VII. Appendix 1: GMFMC Ticketing Data 31 2 Seafood Watch® Red Porgy Report August 14, 2008 I. Terminology Tai historically has been referred to as Pagrus major, or red sea bream. This highly prized reef fish exists in the western Pacific Ocean and is a traditional sushi staple in Japan. There are no data on sea bream imports to the United States (US), although red sea bream is known to be sold in US sushi restaurants. The “tai” served in American sushi bars is sourced from a variety of fisheries. Other fishes of the domestic snapper-grouper complex may be sold as tai from time to time, but P. pagrus and L. campechanus are the most popular candidates. There are also establishments that import P. major specifically for consumption as sushi. This report evaluates the US P. pagrus fisheries; evaluations of L. campechanus and other popular snappers are available in the Seafood Watch® Gulf of Mexico Snapper Report at www.seafoodwatch.org. 3 Seafood Watch® Red Porgy Report August 14, 2008 II. Executive Summary Red porgy (Pagrus pagrus) is inherently resilient to fishing pressure, as it reaches maturity at an early age (1 – 2 years for females and 4 – 5 years for males). P. pagrus is highly fecund, and exhibits a moderate lifespan of approximately 18 years. P. pagrus is found throughout the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. The stock status of red porgy in the South Atlantic1 is well-documented due to a series of stock assessments and fishery-dependent data. Stock assessments for P. pagrus in the South Atlantic began in 1985. The stock displayed continual signs of degradation until 1999 when a moratorium was instituted to protect and rebuild the fishery (SEFMC 2000; Davis 2003). Management measures are currently in place to protect the remaining stock, but they were implemented well after the P. pagrus population had been severely impacted by localized overfishing (Vaughn and Prager 2002; Davis 2003; SAFMC 2006). The fishery is currently in recovery. The stock status of P. pagrus in the Gulf of Mexico is unknown; no stock assessments have been conducted and none are planned for the immediate future. Overall, the stock status of P. pagrus in the South Atlantic is ranked as a high conservation concern, while the stock status of P. pagrus in the Gulf of Mexico is ranked as unknown. P. pagrus is not directly targeted in either the South Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico, but the two fisheries differ greatly concerning the degree to which red porgy may be exploited. While the South Atlantic fishery limits commercial vessels to 50 pounds of incidental catch per trip, the Gulf of Mexico has no such regulation. The most common gear used to catch P. pagrus is vertical hook and line, a type of handline gear. As P. pagrus is taken incidentally by snapper-grouper vessels, P. pagrus bycatch mirrors that incurred by red snapper, grouper, and gag fishermen. Rates vary, but figures seem to average around 20-25%, with slightly higher levels of bycatch in the South Atlantic. Overall, bycatch is considered a moderate conservation concern in both the South Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. Hook and line gear has little impact with the benthos, and is thus considered to have a benign impact on the habitat and ecosystem. Past management in the South Atlantic has been lacking—overfishing has occurred and scientific advice has been ignored at times. These actions resulted in severe population declines which eventually forced the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) to declare a moratorium in 1999. This proved a vital turning point for the fishery, catalyzing subsequent legislation and policy which have helped to rebuild the stocks. P. pagrus stocks in the South Atlantic are still technically overfished, but overfishing is no longer occurring. Overall, management of P. pagrus in the South Atlantic is considered moderately effective according to Seafood Watch® criteria. In the Gulf of Mexico, P. pagrus is managed by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. There are currently no management measures in place for P. pagrus with the exception of a commercial permit requirement (there are no size limits, no bag 1 South Atlantic will be used throughout the report to refer to the southeast U.S. 4 Seafood Watch® Red Porgy Report August 14, 2008 limits, and no time/area closures). Catches of P. pagrus increased by 75% from 1998 through 2004 and have declined since; over 60% of P. pagrus caught in the US is from the Gulf of Mexico. The combination of individual criteria results in an overall recommendation of “Good Alternative” for P. pagrus. Table of Sustainability Ranks Conservation Concern Sustainability Criteria Low Moderate High Critical Inherent Vulnerability √ √ √ Status of Stocks (Gulf of Mexico) (South Atlantic) Nature of Bycatch √ Habitat & Ecosystem Effects √ Management Effectiveness √ √ (South Atlantic) (Gulf of Mexico) About the Overall Seafood Recommendation: • A seafood product is ranked Best Choice if three or more criteria are of Low Conservation Concern (green) and the remaining criteria are not of High or Critical Conservation Concern. • A seafood product is ranked Good Alternative if the five criteria “average” to yellow (Moderate Conservation Concern) OR if the “Status of Stocks” and “Management Effectiveness” criteria are both of Moderate Conservation Concern. • A seafood product is ranked Avoid if two or more criteria are of High Conservation Concern (red) OR if one or more criteria are of Critical Conservation Concern (black) in the table above. Overall Seafood Recommendation: Best Choice Good Alternative Avoid 5 Seafood Watch® Red Porgy Report August 14, 2008 III. Introduction Basic Biology P. pagrus is a reef-associated fish that inhabits temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical neritic zones on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean (Davis 2003; Fishbase 2007). Juveniles are generally found at depths of 20 meters (m) to 50 m, while adults are known to exist at depths of up to 200 m (Manooch and Huntsman 1977; Davis 2003). P. pagrus are protogynous hermaphrodites, with males occurring at all ages but more frequent in larger size classes (Manooch 1976; Davis 2003). Spawning occurs in the spring and peaks in March – April in the northern hemisphere (Manooch 1976; Davis 2003). The eggs and larvae (Figure 1) of P. pagrus are pelagic and are able to survive ocean currents, contributing to populations which are often parceled into numerous hotspots, geographically distinct but genetically homogenous (Manooch 1976). Figure 1. Larval P. pagrus (Figure from Fishbase 2007). When P.