Grouper-Tilefish Individual Fishing Quota Program 5-year Review April 2018 This is a publication of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council Pursuant to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Award No. NA15NMF4410011 This page intentionally blank ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS DOCUMENT ACL annual catch limit ALS Accumulated Landings System AM accountability measure BLL bottom longline CLB Coastal Logbook Council Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council CPUE catch per unit effort CSF cross species flexibility CSP Catch share program CS Policy Catch Share Policy CSVI community social vulnerability indicators CU capacity utilization DWG Deepwater grouper DWH Deepwater Horizon (oil spill) EFH Essential Fish Habitat EU excess capacity FMP Fishery management plan FTE full-time equivalent FWC Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission GDP Gross Domestic Product GG gag grouper GGM gag grouper multiuse GSAD Gulf and South Atlantic Dealer GT grouper-tilefish GT-IFQ Grouper-Tilefish Individual Fishing Quota Guidance Guidance for Conducting Reviews of Catch Share Programs Gulf Gulf of Mexico gw gutted weight HAPC Habitat areas of particular concern HHI Herfindahl-Hirschman Index IFQ Individual fishing quota ITQ Individual transferable quota JEA Joint Enforcement Agreement LAPP limited access privilege program LASAF Limited Access System Administration Fund LKE Lowest known entity LL longline Magnuson-Stevens Act Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act MES minimum efficient scale mp million pounds MSY maximum sustainable yield NGO Non-governmental organization NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service Grouper-Tilefish IFQ Program i 5-Year Review NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOS National Ocean Service OC over capacity OLE Office of law enforcement OSWG other shallow water grouper OY Optimum yield PCFA principal components factor analysis PIN Personal identification number pw product weight RA Regional Administrator Reef Fish FMP Fishery Management Plan for Reef Fish Resource of the Gulf RFOP Reef Fish Observer Program RG Red grouper RGG Red grouper and gag grouper combined RGM Red grouper multiuse RL related accounts RQ Regional quotient RS Red Snapper RS-IFQ Red Snapper Individual Fishing Quota SBA Small Business Administration SDF stochastic distance frontier Secretary Secretary of Commerce SEDAR Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review SEFSC Southeast Fisheries Science Center, NMFS SEP Socioeconomic Panel SERO Southeast Regional Office, NMFS SMZ Special management zone SOI segments of interest SWG Shallow water grouper TAC Total allowable catch TE technical efficiency TF Tilefish TL Total length USCG United States Coast Guard VL vertical line VMS Vessel monitoring system ww whole weight Grouper-Tilefish IFQ Program ii 5-Year Review TABLE OF CONTENTS Abbreviations Used in this Document ............................................................................................. i Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ x Chapter 1. Introduction and Background ....................................................................................... 1 1.1 Legal Requirements and Guidance for the Review .............................................................. 1 1.2 Pre-IFQ Management of Grouper and Tilefish ................................................................ 3 1.3 GT-IFQ Program Description ............................................................................................... 7 1.3.1 IFQ Goals and Objectives .............................................................................................. 7 1.3.2 IFQ Design and Structure .............................................................................................. 8 1.3.3 Quotas for GT-IFQ share categories ............................................................................ 13 Chapter 2. Data Collection and Reporting ................................................................................... 15 2.1 Data Gaps ....................................................................................................................... 16 2.2 Reporting Burden ........................................................................................................... 21 2.3 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 22 Chapter 3. Affected Environment ................................................................................................ 23 3.1 Biological ............................................................................................................................ 23 3.2 Economic ............................................................................................................................ 26 3.2.1 Permits .................................................................................................................... 26 3.2.2 Shareholder Accounts ............................................................................................. 26 3.2.3 IFQ and Gulf Reef Fish Vessels ............................................................................. 29 3.2.4 Economic Performance Indicators for the GT-IFQ Program ................................. 32 3.2.5 Economic Returns in the G-T IFQ Program .......................................................... 35 3.2.6 IFQ Dealers ............................................................................................................ 39 3.2.7 Imports .................................................................................................................... 40 3.2.8 Economic Impacts of the Gulf of Mexico IFQ Fisheries ....................................... 41 3.3 Social................................................................................................................................... 44 Chapter 4. Eligibility and Participation ....................................................................................... 58 4.1 Participation Changes ......................................................................................................... 59 4.2 Operational Changes ........................................................................................................... 63 Grouper-Tilefish IFQ Program iii 5-Year Review 4.2.1 Stochastic Frontier Analyses........................................................................................ 63 4.2.2 Fleet and Effort Consolidation ..................................................................................... 66 4.2.3 Stakeholder Surveys..................................................................................................... 69 4.3 Social Effects ................................................................................................................. 72 4.3.1 Stakeholder Survey Results ......................................................................................... 74 4.4 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 75 Chapter 5. Allocations, Transferability, and Caps ....................................................................... 78 5.1 Share transfers ..................................................................................................................... 79 5.2 Allocation transfers ............................................................................................................. 80 5.3 Distributions of Landings, Revenues, and Shares .............................................................. 83 5.4 Market Concentration and Market Power ........................................................................... 86 5.4.1 Landings Markets......................................................................................................... 86 5.4.2 Annual Allocation and Shares Markets ....................................................................... 88 5.4.3 Caps and Minimum Efficient Scale (MES) ................................................................. 91 5.5 Social effects ....................................................................................................................... 92 5.6 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 93 Chapter 6. Price Analyses ............................................................................................................ 96 6.1 Share prices ......................................................................................................................... 97 6.2 Allocation prices ................................................................................................................. 98 6.3 Ex-vessel prices .................................................................................................................. 99 6.4 IFQ Program Effects on Prices ........................................................................................