Abstract:
With the continued depletion of the nation’s fish stocks, this paper investigates fisheries
management through the case study of the gag grouper in the South Atlantic. In accordance with
the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Management Act, the South Atlantic Fishery Management
Council has the responsibility to design regulations to prevent the gag grouper stock from
becoming overfished. The 2006 summer Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR)
analysis suggested the SAFMC wasn’t adhering to their responsibility, allowing the gag to
become potentially overfished. Given the management challenges of a data poor environment,
complicated species biology, and a multispecies complex, the gag grouper case illustrates the
problems associated with fishery management. A list of potential management options was
compiled from a literature review of fishery management practices focusing on case studies of
successful multispecies fisheries in similar situations. An analysis of the fishery highlighted
three themes necessary for the sustainability of the gag grouper stock: better information on the
status of the stock, a reduction in fishing mortality and bycatch, and protection of the spawning
aggregations. Based on the literature review, personal communications, and the logistics of the
gag grouper fishery, recommendations were devised and presented to the South Atlantic Fishery
Management Council. The reauthorization of the Magnuson Act in January 2007 will hopefully
provide the necessary impetus for the SAFMC to take actions to save the shallow water gag
grouper in the South Atlantic.
