Seafood Watch Seafood Report Commercially Important Gulf of Mexico/South Atlantic Snappers Red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus Vermilion snapper, Rhomboplites aurorubens Yellowtail snapper, Ocyurus chrysurus With minor reference to: Gray snapper, Lutjanus griseus Mutton snapper, Lutjanus analis Lane snapper, Lutjanus synagris Lutjanus campechanus Illustration ©Monterey Bay Aquarium Original Report dated April 20, 2004 Last updated February 4, 2009 Melissa M Stevens Fisheries Research Analyst Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® Gulf of Mexico/South Atlantic Snappers Report February 4, 2009 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. 2 Seafood Watch® Gulf of Mexico/South Atlantic Snappers Report February 4, 2009 Table of Contents I. Executive Summary 4 II. Introduction 7 III. Analysis of Seafood Watch® Sustainability Criteria for Wild-caught Species Criterion 1: Inherent Vulnerability to Fishing Pressure 11 Criterion 2: Status of Wild Stocks 12 Criterion 3: Nature and Extent of Bycatch 27 Criterion 4: Effect of Fishing Practices on Habitats and Ecosystems 29 Criterion 5: Effectiveness of the Management Regime 29 IV. Overall Evaluation and Seafood Recommendation 32 V. References 36 VI. Appendices 41 3 Seafood Watch® Gulf of Mexico/South Atlantic Snappers Report February 4, 2009 I. Executive Summary Snappers comprise a large element of tropical and subtropical marine ecosystems in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, as well as in the Caribbean and Coral Seas. Because snappers are highly desired food fish, they are sought in artisanal, recreational, and commercial fisheries throughout their range. Snappers (and reef fish in general) possess a suite of life history characteristics that make them moderately vulnerable to fishing pressure. These traits include greater longevity (20-60 yrs), high site fidelity, and regular aggregation at spawning sites. In the continental United States, vermilion snapper (Rhomboplites aurorubens) accounts for approximately 43% of commercial snapper landings (1,565 metric tons (mt) in 2007); red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) accounts for 38% of commercial snapper landings (1,413 mt in 2007), with over 96% of landings originating in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM); and yellowtail snapper accounts for 12% of total commercial snapper landings (444 mt in 2007). Red snapper stocks in the South Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico are currently overfished and undergoing overfishing, while yellowtail and mutton snapper stocks are not overfished, nor undergoing overfishing in either region. According to the most recent stock assessment, the GOM vermilion snapper stock is not overfished and not experiencing overfishing. However, this assessment is based on a new, highly uncertain model. Additionally, vermilion snapper are caught in the same fishery as red snapper, which has a critical stock status. As such, Seafood Watch® is precautionary when ranking the stock’s status. In the South Atlantic1, stock assessments indicate vermilion snapper stock health is poor and that overfishing is occurring, but it is unknown if the stock is overfished. In the South Atlantic, gray and lane snappers are considered to not be undergoing overfishing; it is unknown whether they are overfished. Their stock status in the Gulf of Mexico is unknown. Although data are generally lacking for international stocks, there is evidence that many are fully or overexploited. U.S. fishers target snappers with bottom longline (deeper water) and handline (shallow water) gear. Bycatch discards in the handline fishery are relatively high and are reportedly a result of current regulations (closed seasons, size limits, etc.). Regulatory-induced discards contribute to overall fishing mortality of the respective snappers, as does bycatch from the shrimp-trawling fishery (GOM only), which is not evaluated here. Recent evidence also indicates bycatch and ensuing mortality of protected sea turtles is higher than previously expected in the longline fishery. Fishing methods have a moderate impact on habitat and given their roles as top predators, it is possible that reduced biomass of snappers is having direct and indirect effects on the marine ecosystems in which they live. Red, vermilion, and yellowtail snapper stocks have been assessed using fisheries-dependent and independent data, and these fisheries have been actively managed through a limited entry system, annual quotas, size limits, trip limits, and seasonal closures. Management, however, has not prevented declines in the South Atlantic and GOM red snapper stocks, and has not assessed the status of other commercially important stocks. Therefore, management is considered moderately effective. International management of snappers appears to be ineffective at preventing declines in countries where valuable snapper fisheries occur. 1 Throughout this report, the terms ‘South Atlantic’ and ‘southeastern Atlantic’ refer to the southeastern region of the United States. 4 Seafood Watch® Gulf of Mexico/South Atlantic Snappers Report February 4, 2009 Red snapper receives a recommendation of Avoid due to its critical stock status. Imported snapper populations are overfished and management is ineffective, resulting in a recommendation of Avoid. Vermilion snapper is of poor stock status and is caught in the same fishery as red snapper, which has a critical stock status; therefore, vermilion snapper is recommended as Avoid. Despite high levels of bycatch in the fisheries, gray, mutton, lane, and yellowtail snappers are recommended as Good Alternatives due to the moderate inherent vulnerability of snappers to fishing pressure and moderately effective management. This report was updated on February 4, 2009. For a summary of changes made at this time, please see Appendix 2. 5 Seafood Watch® Gulf of Mexico/South Atlantic Snappers Report February 4, 2009 Table of Sustainability Ranks Conservation Concern Sustainability Criteria Low Moderate High Critical Inherent Vulnerability √ √ (Vermilion √ (Yellowtail √ (Gray, mutton, √ (Red Status of Stocks snapper, snapper) lane snappers) snapper) International) Nature of Bycatch √ Habitat & Ecosystem √ Effects √ √ Management Effectiveness (U.S.) (International) Overall Evaluation and Seafood Ranking: • A seafood product is ranked Best Choice if a total of three or more criteria are indicated as Concern: Low (green) and no remaining criteria are indicated as Concern: High or Concern: Critical • A seafood product is ranked Good Alternative if a total of three or more criteria are indicated as Concern: Moderate (yellow) OR where the “Status of Stocks” and “Management Effectiveness” criteria are both indicated as Concern: Moderate