Blueline Tilefish Report Has Not Been Finalized
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SEDAR SouthEast Data, Assessment, and Review 4055 Faber Place Drive #201 Phone (843) 571-4366 North Charleston SC 29405 Fax (843) 769-4520 www.sefsc.noaa.gov/sedar/ As of October 4, 2013, the SEDAR 32 South Atlantic blueline tilefish report has not been finalized. The following sections were incomplete when the federal government shut down on October 1, 2013. An updated report will be distributed, if available, prior to the SSC meeting. • Section I: Introduction, Assessment Summary Report – waiting approval from the lead analyst. • Section VI: Addendum with updated projection information – the review panel suggested the projections be rerun using the 2012 landings and discard data. The Council requested a p-star analysis of 0.5 (see Introduction pages 10-11). SEDAR requested this information by September 20, 2013. The lead analyst did not receive 2012 landings and discard data until September 19 and was planning to get the updated projections to SEDAR the week of September 30. Due to the federal government shut down this information is not yet available. Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review SEDAR 32 Stock Assessment Report South Atlantic Blueline Tilefish October 2013 SSC Review Draft SEDAR 4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 201 North Charleston, SC 29405 Please cite this document as: SEDAR. 2013. SEDAR 32 – South Atlantic blueline tilefish Stock Assessment Report. SEDAR, North Charleston SC. 341 pp. available online at: http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/sedar/Sedar_Workshops.jsp?WorkshopNum=32 THE STOCK ASSESSMENT REPORT IS NOT FINALIZED SO IT IS NOT AVAILABLE ON SEDAR WEBSITE YET. SSC Review Draft Table of Contents Pages of each Section are numbered separately. Section I. Introduction PDF page 4 Section II. Data Workshop Report PDF page 26 Section III. Assessment Report PDF page 172 Section IV. Research Recommendations PDF Page 312 Section V. Review Workshop Report PDF Page 318 Section VI. Addendum NOT AVAILABLE SSC Review Draft SEDAR Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review SEDAR 32 South Atlantic Blueline Tilefish SECTION I: Introduction October 2013 SSC Review Draft SEDAR 4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 201 North Charleston, SC 29405 October 2013 South Atlantic Blueline Tilefish Contents I. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 3 1. SEDAR Process Description ................................................................................................................... 3 2. Management Overview ........................................................................................................................ 4 3. Assessment History & Review ............................................................................................................. 18 4. Regional Maps ..................................................................................................................................... 19 5. Assessment Summary Report ............................................................................................................. 19 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................. 20 Stock Status and Determination Criteria ............................................................................................ 20 Stock Identification and Management Unit ........................................................................................ 20 Assessment Methods .......................................................................................................................... 20 Assessment Data ................................................................................................................................. 20 Release Mortality ................................................................................................................................ 20 Catch Trends ....................................................................................................................................... 20 Fishing Mortality Trends ..................................................................................................................... 20 Stock Abundance and Biomass Trends ............................................................................................... 20 Scientific Uncertainty .......................................................................................................................... 20 Significant Assessment Modifications................................................................................................. 20 Sources of Information ....................................................................................................................... 20 Figures ................................................................................................................................................. 20 6. SEDAR Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................... 20 SSC Review Draft SEDAR 32 SAR Section I 2 Introduction October 2013 South Atlantic Blueline Tilefish I. Introduction 1. SEDAR Process Description SouthEast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) is a cooperative Fishery Management Council process initiated in 2002 to improve the quality and reliability of fishery stock assessments in the South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and US Caribbean. The improved stock assessments from the SEDAR process provide higher quality information to address fishery management issues. SEDAR emphasizes constituent and stakeholder participation in assessment development, transparency in the assessment process, and a rigorous and independent scientific review of completed stock assessments. SEDAR is managed by the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic Regional Fishery Management Councils in coordination with NOAA Fisheries and the Atlantic and Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commissions. Oversight is provided by a Steering Committee composed of NOAA Fisheries representatives: Southeast Fisheries Science Center Director and the Southeast Regional Administrator; Regional Council representatives: Executive Directors and Chairs of the South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils; and Interstate Commission representatives: Executive Directors of the Atlantic States and Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commissions. SEDAR is organized around three workshops. First is the Data Workshop, during which fisheries, monitoring, and life history data are reviewed and compiled. Second is the Assessment process, which is conducted via a workshop and several webinars, during which assessment models are developed and population parameters are estimated using the information provided from the Data Workshop. Third and final is the Review Workshop, during which independent experts review the input data, assessment methods, and assessment products. The completed assessment, including the reports of all 3 workshops and all supporting documentation, is then forwarded to the Council SSC for certification as ‘appropriate for management’ and development of specific management recommendations. SEDAR workshops are public meetings organized by SEDAR staff and the lead Council. Workshop participants are drawn from state and federal agencies, non-government organizations, Council members, Council advisors, and the fishing industry with a goal of including a broad range of disciplines and perspectives. All participants are expected to contribute to the process by preparing working papers, contributing, providing assessment analyses, and completing the workshop report. SEDAR Review Workshop Panels consist of a chair, three reviewers appointed by the Center for Independent Experts (CIE), and one or more SSC representatives appointed by each council having jurisdictionSSC over the stocks Reviewassessed. The Review Workshop Chair Draft is appointed by the council having jurisdiction over the stocks assessed and is a member of that council’s SSC. Participating councils may appoint representatives of their SSC, Advisory, and other panels as observers. SEDAR 32 SAR Section I 3 Introduction October 2013 South Atlantic Blueline Tilefish 2. Management Overview 2.1. Fishery Management Plan and Amendments The following summary describes only those management actions that likely affect blueline tilefish fisheries and harvest. Original SAMFC FMP The Fishery Management Plan (FMP), Regulatory Impact Review, and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Snapper Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region, approved in 1983 and implemented in August of 1983, establishes a management regime for the fishery for snappers, groupers and related demersal species of the Continental Shelf of the southeastern United States in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) under the area of authority of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the territorial seas of the states, extending from the North Carolina/Virginia border through the Atlantic side of the Florida Keys to 83o W longitude. Regulations apply only to federal waters. SAFMC FMP Amendments affecting blueline tilefish Description of Action FMP/Amendment Effective Date -Gear limitations – poisons, explosives, fish traps, trawls -Designated modified habitats or artificial FMP (1983) 08/31/83 reefs as Special Management Zones (SMZs) -Prohibited trawl gear to harvest fish south of Cape Hatteras, NC and north of Cape