Coastal Conservation Association (CCA)

CCA Comments: South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Red Snapper Interim Rule - March 2009

. According to the science presented by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Atlantic red snapper population appears to be in a serious state, with all the signs indicating severe trouble.

Under the tenets of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, closing the red snapper directed harvest to both the commercial and recreational fishery is a required first step in beginning the ultimate recovery of this important population. But in and of itself, it will not end overfishing. We await the proposed management measures to be found in Amendment 17 to begin the full recovery of Atlantic red snapper to a healthy population level and their former geographic distribution.

We are very concerned that this fishery, like many others in the snapper-grouper complex, has been allowed to sink to such low levels before management action is taken. If managers in the past had taken the necessary steps to recover this and other stocks we would not be facing such difficult decisions now.

As this population recovers we expect that the Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service will reexamine red snapper fishery to establish a fair and equitable distribution between the commercial and recreational sectors.

We believe fisheries should be managed as a public resource for the greatest economic benefit to the nation.