SAVING THE SHALLOW WATER GAG GROUPER IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC: AN INVESTIGATION OF FISHERY MANAGMENT
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.
Type
Master's projectSubject
Gag grouper (Mycteroperca microlepis)South Atlantic
Magnuson-Steven Fisheries Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA)
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
Fisheries
Management
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/317Citation
Miller, Kerri Lynn (2007). SAVING THE SHALLOW WATER GAG GROUPER IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC: AN INVESTIGATION OF FISHERY
MANAGMENT. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/317.Collections
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