CFMC Updates (September 2023)

CFMC UPDATES

September 2023

In the Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC)'s bulletin you will find announcements, facts about marine species, and valuable information on fishing and rule that regulate this activity in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

Island-based Fishery Management Plans (IBFMP) Amendments and Actions

Prepared in collaboration with María del Mar López, Caribbean Operations Branch Lead, Southeast Regional Office, NOAA Fisheries

The CFMC held its 182nd meeting on August 15-16, 2023. The topics discussed were many and diverse. Part of the meeting was dedicated to discussing and deciding the actions included in several amendments to the Island-Based Fishery Management Plans (IBFMP) and other actions. We present and explain them below.

Final Action: Framework Amendment 2 to the IBFMPs - Updates to the Spiny Lobster Management Limits

This amendment would update the overfishing limit, the acceptable biological catch, and the annual catch limit for spiny lobster on each of the fishery management plans for Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas and St. John to reflect new projections from the 2022 Update Assessment to the SouthEast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) 57 Spiny Lobster Stock Assessments. The Council voted to submit the amendment to the Secretary of Commerce for approval.

Spiny lobster (Panulirus argus)

Credit: NOAA Fisheries

The new values for lobster in terms of catch limits were approved and now NOAA Fisheries will prepare the regulations for their implementation. There will be an opportunity to comment on the proposed rulemakingwhen it is ready and published.

Final Regulation: Use of Buoy Gear for Fishing in Federal Waters off the U.S. Caribbean – NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Regional Office notified the CFMC about the recent implementation of regulations for Amendment 1 to the IBFMPs (Buoy Gear Definition and Use), prepared by the Council. This amendment became effective on August 21, 2023. These regulations prohibit the use of buoy gear for recreational fishing in federal waters around Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas/St. John and increased the number of hooks allowed with this gear type from 10 to 25 for commercial fishers. You can read more at:

Amendment 2 to the IBFMPs – Modification to the Use of Certain Nets and Use of Fish

Descending Devices

The CFMC is currently developing this amendment, which would prohibit trawling activities in the U.S. Caribbean exclusive economic zone, extend gillnet, trammel net, and purse seine prohibitions to other components of the Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas/St. John fisheries, and add a requirement to have descending devices available and ready for use when fishing for Council-managed reef fish.

Marcos Hanke teaches fisherwoman Natalia Padró how to make a descending device at home.

Buoy gear

Credit: Nelson Crespo

Credit: Cristina Olán

The CFMC made changes to the gillnet action and is scheduled to take final action at the December 2023 meeting. These changes would specify requirements for surface gillnets used for bait fishing.

Amendment 3 to the IBFMPs - Management Measures for Dolphin and Wahoo

The CFMC is working on amending each of the IBFMPs to include additional management measures for dolphin and wahoo. The amendments would establish size limits and recreational bag limits for dolphin and wahoo in federal waters around Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas/St. John. The CFMC selected the following as preferred management measures: (1) 24” fork length (FL) minimum size limit for dolphin in Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas/St. John;

(2) 32” FL minimum size limit for wahoo in Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas/St. John, (3) Recreational bag limits for Puerto Rico federal waters: 5 dolphin per person per day or 15 dolphin per vessel per day, whichever is less, and 5 wahoo per person per day or 10 wahoo per vessel per day, whichever is less, and (4) Recreational bag limits for St. Croix and St. Thomas/St. John federal waters: 10 dolphin per person per day or 32 dolphin per vessel per day, whichever is less, and 2 wahoo per person per day or 10 wahoo per vessel per day, whichever is less. The CFMC may take final action on this action at the December 2023 meeting.

Credit: Marcos Hanke

Homemade descending device.

Credit: NOAA Fisheries

Wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri)

Credit: NOAA Fisheries

Dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus)

Queen Triggerfish Management in Puerto

Rico’s Federal Waters - The Council decided to move forward with an amendment to update management reference points for queen triggerfish under the Puerto Rico Fishery Management Plan based on outcomes from the SEDAR 80 stock assessment. SEDAR is a cooperative process for evaluating fish stocks, queen triggerfish in this case. This evaluation provides the best scientific information available and provides new reference points for determining new annual catch limits for the species based on the best available science.

Reclassification of the Rainbow Runner under the Puerto Rico FMP - The Council voted to begin an amendment to the Puerto Rico FMP to reclassify the rainbow runner (Elagatis bipinnulata) as a pelagic fish based on recommendations from their Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and the Puerto Rico District Advisory Panel. This amendment reclassifies the rainbow runner as a pelagic species, as it was determined that it was inadvertently included as a reef species when its behavior is more indicative of a pelagic species. This means that once the plan is amended and its regulations are in effect, the regulations that will apply to the rainbow runner will be those applicable to pelagic fish and not to reef fish.

TO ACCESS, READ AND DOWNLOAD THE MEETING DOCUMENTS, SCAN THE FOLLOWING QR CODE:

Credit: Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

Queen triggerfish (Balistes vetula)

Credit: Rickard Zerpe/NOAA Fisheries

Rainbow runner (Elagatis bipinnulata)

PEPCO CONTINUES!

The Educational Program for Commercial Fishers (PEPCO, in Spanish) was held on August 8, 2023 in Vieques, PR. Licenses and permits for commercial fishing, commercial fishing statistics, fishing laws and regulations, local and federal fishing prohibitions, local and federal natural protected areas, and highly migratory species were topics covered in the workshop. Wilson Santiago Soler, Puerto Rico

DNER/CFMC Liaison Officer, led the workshops, and Jannette Ramos García from Puerto Rico Sea Grant, offered a presentation about sustainable fishing.

Credit: Jannette Ramos

Credit: Wilson Santiago

(Top) Wilson Santiago, Puerto Rico DNER/CFMC Liaison Officer, addresses the group of fishers in Vieques during the PEPCO workshop. (Bottom)

Jannette Ramos, from PR Sea Grant, addresses participants to talk about sustainable fishing.

Fishers were able to ask questions, clarify questions and have a conversation about fishing in Puerto Rico. Also, they received support to apply for and/or renew the commercial fishing license.

If you are a commercial fisher and you are interested in PEPCO for your fishing village, fishers’ association or

(Top) Wilson Santiago addressing questions from

Credit: Jannette Ramos

Credit: Vanessa Ramírez

FISHERS

Dive into fisheries education through MREP!

During the weekend of August 25-27, 2023, commercial and recreational fishermen and aquaculture industry representatives, among others, participated in the Marine Resources Education Program (MREP) held in Fajardo, PR. Workshop topics included fish populations biology and habitat, fisheries statistics, data collection, laboratory studies, aquaculture, population dynamics and stock assessment science, fisheries management, participation in decision-making processes, and collaborative research

MREP takes place once a year It is a program developed by and for fishers Are you interested in attending a future MREP workshop? Please, scan the QR code for more information and/or contact any of the persons that are listed below.

Group of participants of MREP 2023.

Credit: Cristina Olán

Recovering Big Fish!

By Ana Salceda, Producer, BelugaSmile Productions

At the 2018 meeting of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission Spawning Aggregation Working Group (WECAFC SAWG), participants articulated the urgency to broadly elevate a call to action to protect Fish Spawning Aggregations (FSA) in the region. To that end, an active and strategic communication program was identified as a way to build awareness and support for FSA conservation and management.

Participants recommended that given the vast amount of dispersed communication work that has been produced to date, there was a need to develop a standardized, objective driven and unified communication strategy, as a first step of a longterm communication initiative.

In parallel, the SAWG worked intensely to produce the Regional Fish Spawning Aggregations Management Plan (RFSAMP). Goal five of the plan is focused on communication “to significantly increase of the high importance of

protecting spawning aggregations, especially among key stakeholders, for maintaining food security, economic benefits (whether from associated fisheries or ecotourism), equitable resource use, and ocean and biodiversity conservation.”

Developing an active, strategic communication plan for the region presented some unique challenges and opportunities. The WECAFC presides over a geographically dispersed and culturally diverse region, where three official languages are spoken and/or understood by a majority of the population: English, Spanish and French.

Furthermore, to date FSA communication efforts have been largely localized, and there is little unity in messaging, calls to action and shared vision. However, in 2020 the WECAFC SAWG approved Recovering Big Fish, a 10-year education and outreach plan to elevate and catalyze FSA protection.

SAWG’s collaborative work comes to fruition this month with the launch of Big Fish, The Public Engagement Campaign by WECAFC/CFMC/OSPESCA/CRFM

Spawning Aggregation Working Group and produced by BelugaSmile Productions, that begins implementation of the plan. The target audiences of the campaign are the fishing community, decision makers and fish consumers throughout the entire region.

The campaign includes products such as: short films, a hub with a FSA resource library, social media posts, apps, radio kits, and posters Among these products, Treasure of Caribbean stands out, key element of the campaign and finalist for the Jackson Wild Media Awards in the Ecosystem - Long Form category.

Big Fish launches live from Belize with a series of streaming events organized around special screenings of Treasure of the Caribbean for the target audiences of the campaign.

The following months, the campaign will continue both online and on the ground with special events in Guatemala, Honduras, The Bahamas in its tour to make a difference to protect the next generation of fish in the entire region.

DISCOVER THE TREASURE OF THE CARIBBEAN AND ACCESS

WECAFC SAWG 2018 meeting participants

Credit: Ana Salceda