Houston, TX – In a shocking move, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has abandoned critical conservation measures outlined in a management plan for dolphin and wahoo, despite the plan’s unanimous passage by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC). The plan was developed in conjunction with the Mid-Atlantic and New England Councils.

“The plan as originally developed by the Councils is exactly the way fishery management should work. It fixed the problems before any had a chance to develop,” said Fred Miller, chairmen of CCA’s Government Relations Committee. “With the stroke of a pen, NMFS has essentially told the entire Council system that it should not pursue precautionary measures in fisheries management and should instead try to salvage a stock after it is too late.”

In developing the plan, the SAFMC recognized that the vast majority of dolphin is caught by recreational fishermen and stipulated that management should be designed primarily to benefit the recreational fishery. For more than a decade, conservationists have voiced concerns that the commercial longline industry’s intense fishing effort could shift to traditional recreational species like dolphin and wahoo after regulations were implemented in traditionally commercial pelagic fisheries. To deter the development of a directed commercial fishery for dolphin and wahoo, the SAFMC developed a plan that instituted poundage limits in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Additionally, a control date of May 21, 1999, was adopted to limit entry into the fishery.

NMFS sent out a notice in December 2003, more than two years after the plan was approved by the Councils, stating that the stipulations on trip limits and the control date would be deleted from the plan.

“We are very concerned about the precedent this sets. This will throw us back to reactionary management instead of a proactive conservation initiative,” said Wiley Horton, chairmen of CCA’s Gulf of Mexico Fishery Committee. “Essentially, NMFS’ decision throws that fishery open to exploitation by the longline industry.”

 “CCA has relentlessly pursued a solution to the problems caused by longlining. Unfortunately, this action reduces the overall conservation benefit of the plan," said David Cummins, CCA president. “This is a step backward for conservation-minded management and CCA will not let it go unchallenged.”

CCA is currently exploring all options available to re-establish the precautionary conservation measures originally approved in the plan.