Forty-Second Annual Report (1991)
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OFFICE COPY ONLY FORTY-SECOND ANNUAL REPORT OF THE P.O. Box 726 Ocean Springs, MS 39564 (601} 875-5912 The GULF STATES MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION is an organization of the five States, whose coastal waters are the Gulf of Mexico. This Compact, authorized under Public Law 81-66, was signed by the representatives of the Governors of the five Gulf States on July 16, 1949, at Mobile, Alabama. It has as its principal objective the conservation, development and full utilization of the fishery resources of the Gulf of Mexico, to provide food, employment, income and recreation to the people of these United States. GULF STATES MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION FORTY-SECOND ANNUAL REPORT (1991) To the CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES And to the GOVERNORS AND LEGISLATORS of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas Presented in compliance with the terms of the Compact and the State enabling Acts creating such Commission and Public Law 66 - 81st Congress assenting thereto GULF STA TES MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION P.O. Box 726 Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564 (601) 875-5912 ACKNOWLEDGMENT In submitting this Forty-second Annual Report, the Commissioners wish to express their most sincere appreciation for the splendid cooperation of the Members of Congress and the Governors and Legislators of the Compact States. The Commission fully appreciates that such measure of success as has been attained in the past forty-two years could not have been possible without such valued assistance. This acknowledgment is also extended to the directorates and staffs of federal, state and interstate agencies, and to representatives of all organizations and individuals who have contributed toward the realization of the objectives of the GULF STATES MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION. Respectfully submitted, Don Duden, Chairman FY91 Leroy Kiffe, Vice Chairman FY91 Larry B. Simpson, Executive Director GULF STATES MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION Forty-second Annual Report (1991) CONTENTS Roster of the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission . 1 Commission Officers Elected for Year 1990-1991 ....................................... 2 Commission Activities January 1, 1991-December 31, 1991 ............................... 3 Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program . 6 Sport Fish Restoration Program . 15 Interjurisdictional Fisheries Management Program .................................... 19 Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources . 22 Florida Department of Natural Resources . 27 Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries . 37 Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks ................................ 45 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department . 53 Southeast Region - National Marine Fisheries Service . 56 Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council . 79 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ................................................... 83 Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 1991 ........................... 92 iii Roster of the GULF STATES MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION January 1, 1991 - December 31, 1991 Chairman: Don Duden Vice Chairman: Leroy Kiffe COMMISSIONERS (order of listing - Administrator, Legislator, Governor's Appointee) ALABAMA Frank J. Patti, Representative James D. Martin, Commissioner State of Louisiana AL Department of Conservation Belle Chasse, LA and Natural Resources Leroy Kiffe Montgomery, AL Tom Kiffe & Sons Boats Taylor F. Harper, Representative Lockport, LA State of Alabama Grand Bay, AL MISSISSIPPI Chris Nelson Jack Herring Bon Secour Fisheries, Inc. Executive Director Bon Secour, AL MS Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks FLORIDA Jackson, MS Don Duden Tommy Gollott, Senator Acting Executive Director State of Mississippi FL Department of Natural Resources Biloxi, MS Tallahassee, FL Sam Mitchell, Representative TEXAS State of Florida Andrew Sansom Chipley, FL Executive Director Hans G. Tanzler, III TX Parks and Wildlife Dept. Jacksonville, FL Austin, TX Robert Saunders, Representative LOUISIANA State of Texas A. Kell Mcinnis Austin, Texas Acting Executive Secretary Charles E. Belaire LA Department of Fulton, TX Wildlife and Fisheries Baton Rouge, LA STAFF Larry B. Simpson Executive Director Ronald R. Lukens Lucia B. Hourihan Assistant Director Publication Specialist David M. Donaldson Nancy K. Marcellus SEAMAP Coordinator Administrative Assistant Richard L. Leard Cynthia D. Bosworth IF Program Coordinator IF Staff Assistant V .K. "Ginny" Herring Cheryl R. Noble Executive Assistant SEAMAP /MARFIN Staff Assistant 1 COMMISSION OFFICERS ELECTED FOR FISCAL YEAR 1991 Chairman: Don Duden succeeding Tommy Gollott Vice Chairman: Leroy Kiffe succeeding Don Duden 1st Vice Chairman: Taylor Harper 2nd Vice Chairman: Rudy Rosen COMMITTEES Executive Committee . Don Duden, Chairman Technical Coordinating Committee ................................... Ed Joyce, Chairman SEAMAP Subcommittee ....................................... Walter Tatum, Chairman Crab Subcommittee . Harriet Perry, Chairman Data Management Subcommittee . Henry "Skip" Lazauski, Chairman Anadromous Fish Subcommittee ......................... Vernon Minton, Chairman Habitat Subcommittee . Larry Lewis, Chairman Commercial Fisheries Advisory Committee . Gene Raffield, Chairman Recreational Fisheries Management Committee ...................... Virginia Vail, Chairman Law Enforcement Committee Jerald Waller, Chairman State-Federal Fisheries Management Committee . Larry Simpson, Moderator Menhaden Advisory Committee . Wilmer LaPointe, Chairman 2 GULF STATES MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION ACTIVITIES Two annual meetings were held during the time period covered by this report. The meetings are rotated among each of the five Gulf States. The 41st Annual Spring Meeting was held April 15-18, 1992 in Galveston, Texas. The Annual Fall Meeting of the Commission was held October 14-18, 1991 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The National Fish Meal and Oil Association met jointly with the Commission in New Orleans. The Commission annually presents the "Charles H. Lyles" Award, its highest expression of appreciation for contributions to the betterment of the fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico. The recipient for 1991 was Mr. John A. Mehos. Mr. Mehos' talents and wisdom were in evidence as chairman of the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, chairman of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council for the first three years of its existence, president and one of the founders of both the Texas Shrimp Association and the Shrimp Association of the Americas, member of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee and member of the National Sea Grant Advisory Committee. In conjunction with the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Program, the State-Federal Fisheries Management Committee, at its October 1991 meeting, addressed a recent court case regarding the commercial landing of Spanish mackerel in the State of Florida. The federal judge's decision in that case ruled that when state and federal regulations for the same species are not identical, federal regulations supersede state regulations, even in cases where the regulations were jointly agreed to by state and federal agencies. If this ruling is applied to other species for which there is a federal fishery management plan (FMP) under one of the regional fishery management councils, states will have lost a significant degree of management authority. If the ruling is held as valid under appeal, state authority for fisheries management would only apply to those resources for which state and federal regulations are identical, or for species for which no federal regulations exist. For interstate FMPs which address menhaden, blue crab, oyster, black drum, mullet, and others where the predominance of harvest is from state territorial waters, state jurisdiction will prevail. For those species for which there is a shared state/federal watPrs harvest, such as Spanish mackerel, spiny lobster, stone crab, red drum, and possibly shrimp, state and federal regulations must be identical or federal regulations will supersede. This issue once again stresses the importance that states must aggressively address and manage those resources which are harvested predominantly in state jurisdictions, through state or interstate FMPs as appropriate. Otherwise, the potential exists to lose jurisdiction over such species through federal action. The Commission, working through its member states on the various committees and subcommittees, has laid the ground work for a variety of significant issues and programs for the next year and beyond. Federal funding to support many of the activities expected is better than in recent years, therefore we must do our part to cooperatively address marine fisheries management issues and work toward positive actions to improve the status of all marine resources in our Gulf of Mexico. A resolution passed during the 41st Annual Spring Meeting follows as a part of this report. Larry B. Simpson Executive Director 3 _..-..,_,.,~ ! ' . _Gulf ·SlateS._rfi~ine P. 0. Box 726 Ocean Springs, MS 39564 Larry B. Simpson (601) 875-5912 'Pisheries Co~n ·~\•v'.<.l)"~~&f> ~~,;:v-~~,~ -,,., '\ Executive Director (FAX) 875-6604 \/" \., \ 'J· '") RESOLUTION State-Federal Programs WHEREAS, partnerships between the states and the federal government have historically been necessary for the effective management of the nation's fishery resources throughout their range, and WHEREAS, there is a need for continuing a strong state-federal partnership regarding management of our shared fishery resources, and WHEREAS, fishery dependent and independent data co