Red Snapper Individual Fishing Quota Program 5-year Review April 2013 This is a publication of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council Pursuant to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Award No. NA10NMF4410011. This page intentionally blank Table of Contents Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... iii List of Tables .......................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ...........................................................................................................5 Executive Summary ................................................................................................. 6 1.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................7 1.1 Pre-RS-IFQ Stock Status and Management History ............................................................ 7 1.2 RS-IFQ Development, Design, and Structure ...................................................................... 8 1.3 RS-IFQ Program Goals and Objectives ............................................................................. 11 1.4 Need for RS-IFQ Program Review .................................................................................... 12 2.0 Summary of Legal Requirements for Program Review ..............................13 3.0 Program Performance and Review ...............................................................15 3.1 Overview of Studies Available for Program Review ......................................................... 15 3.1.1 NMFS Red Snapper IFQ Annual Report ................................................................ 15 3.1.2 RS-IFQ Shareholder Attitudes and Perceptions Study ........................................... 15 3.1.3 Stochastic Frontier Analyses................................................................................... 16 3.1.4 Southeast Fisheries Science Center Economic Analyses........................................ 16 3.1.5 SEDAR Stock Assessments .................................................................................... 17 3.2 Socioeconomic Outcomes .................................................................................................. 17 3.2.1 Reduce Overcapitalization ...................................................................................... 17 3.2.1.1 Participation Consolidation ............................................................................ 17 3.2.1.2 Fleet and Effort Consolidation ....................................................................... 20 3.2.2 Achievement (or Harvesting) of Optimum Yield ................................................... 22 3.2.3 Mitigating the Race to Fish ..................................................................................... 24 3.2.4 Quota and Allocation markets ................................................................................ 25 3.3 Biological Outcomes .......................................................................................................... 27 3.3.1 Fishing Mortality .................................................................................................... 27 3.3.2 Quota Overruns ....................................................................................................... 28 3.3.3 Discards................................................................................................................... 28 3.3.4 Discard Mortality .................................................................................................... 30 3.4 Social Impacts ..................................................................................................................... 31 3.4.1 Social Impacts from Reduction of Overcapacity ..................................................... 31 3.4.2 Social Impacts from Elimination of the Derby Fishery ........................................... 32 3.4.3 Social Impacts from Share Consolidation................................................................ 32 3.4.4 Social Impacts from Market Stability ...................................................................... 33 3.4.5 Social Impacts from New Participation Roles ......................................................... 33 3.4.6 Social Impacts from Perceived Inequalities ............................................................. 34 3.4.7 Social Network Analyses ......................................................................................... 34 3.5 Community Impacts ........................................................................................................... 34 3.6 Safety at Sea ....................................................................................................................... 36 3.7 Enforcement ....................................................................................................................... 37 3.8 Program Administration ..................................................................................................... 39 3.8.1 Changes to the RS-IFQ Program ............................................................................ 39 3.8.2 Cost Recovery and Expenses .................................................................................. 40 i 3.8.3 IFQ Customer Service............................................................................................. 41 3.8.4 Data Collection and Reporting Issues ..................................................................... 42 3.9 Sector Allocations .............................................................................................................. 43 4.0 Research Needs .................................................................................................44 4.1 Biological ............................................................................................................................ 44 4.2 Economic ............................................................................................................................. 44 4.3 Social and Community ........................................................................................................ 45 4.4 Enforcement and Safety ...................................................................................................... 45 5.0 Recommended Program Changes ..................................................................46 5.1 Ad Hoc Red Snapper IFQ 5-year Review Advisory Panel Recommendations ................. 46 5.2 SESSC Recommendations ................................................................................................. 47 5.3 NMFS Administrative Changes Based on IFQ Workshops ............................................... 47 5.3.1 Price Reporting ....................................................................................................... 48 5.3.2 Administrative Changes .......................................................................................... 48 5.3.2.1 Landing Notifications .................................................................................... 48 5.3.2.2 Offloading ...................................................................................................... 50 5.3.2.3 Landing Transactions ..................................................................................... 50 5.3.2.4 Next Steps ...................................................................................................... 52 6.0 Review Summary and Conclusions ...............................................................53 6.1 Gulf Council Recommendations ........................................................................................ 57 7.0 Tables ...............................................................................................................61 8.0 Figures ..............................................................................................................72 9.0 References ........................................................................................................92 ii Abbreviations AHRS-AP Ad Hoc Red Snapper Advisory Panel CPUE Catch per unit effort EOY End of year DWH Deepwater Horizon (oil spill) F Instantaneous fishing mortality rate FAQ Frequently asked questions FMP Fishery management plan FWC Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Gulf Council Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council Gulf Gulf of Mexico GT-IFQ Grouper-Tilefish Individual Fishing Quota HHI Herfindahl-Hirschman Index IFQ Individual fishing quota ITQ Individual transferable quota JEA Joint enforcement agreement LAP Limited access privilege LKE Lowest known entity Magnuson-Stevens Act Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act MSY Maximum sustainable yield NGO Non-governmental organization NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service OLE Office of law enforcement OY Optimum yield PIN Personal identification number Reef Fish FMP Fishery Management Plan for Reef Fish Resource of the Gulf RQ Regional quotient RS-IFQ Red Snapper Individual Fishing Quota SESSC Socioeconomic science and statistical committee SEDAR Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review SERO Southeast Regional Office, NMFS SEFSC Southeast Fisheries Science Center, NMFS TAC Total allowable catch TL Total length USCG United States Coast Guard VMS Vessel monitoring system iii List of Tables Table 1. Summary of red snapper stock assessments..................................................................