Gulf Council Recommends Bycatch Reduction Measures For Shrimpers In The Eastern Gulf Of Mexico

The Ocean Conservancy
Thursday, 16 May 2002

Today, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council voted, with only one member in opposition, recommending that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) enact management measures to reduce shrimp trawl bycatch in the Gulf of Mexico. This recommendation requires that Bycatch Reduction Devices (BRDs) be used in most shrimp trawl nets fishing in the federal waters of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. A similar requirement has existed for the Western Gulf of Mexico since 1998.

Marianne Cufone, Esq., Regional Fish Program Manager for The Ocean Conservancy explains, "A recommendation to reduce bycatch in the Eastern Gulf has been in process with the Gulf Council for nearly three and a half years. Bycatch reduction is required by law and is necessary to responsibly manage our marine resources. It is essential that NMFS accept the Council's recommendation, which will help protect various fish and some other ocean wildlife from getting caught in shrimp trawl nets."

Studies indicate that gulfwide, bycatch rates are on average one pound of shrimp to four pounds of other marine life. This means that approximately 80 percent by weight of what shrimp trawls caught in federal waters is not shrimp. For example, juvenile red snapper are frequently caught and killed in shrimp trawl nets, because these fish often inhabit areas where shrimp are found. This has been one of the primary obstacles to recovery for this severely overfished species.

"When juvenile red snapper are caught and often killed by shrimp trawls, fewer survive to mature and reproduce, resulting in fewer fish to perpetuate the species," Cufone explains. BRDs have been helpful in reducing some juvenile red snapper bycatch in the western Gulf.

While the 1998 BRD requirement in the Western Gulf was focused primarily on reducing the bycatch of red snapper, the Council's efforts to reduce bycatch in the Eastern Gulf is broader in focus. The Magnuson-Stevens Act, the primary law that regulates fishing in federal waters requires that all fish bycatch, not just marine fish with economic or social significance, be minimized "to the extent practicable." NMFS recognized that shrimping activities in the Gulf of Mexico have not minimized bycatch to the extent practicable and asked the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council to recommend measures to further reduce shrimp trawl bycatch gulfwide. Today's vote solidifies the Council's recommendation for measures in the Easter Gulf, an important step forward. New management measures will take effect with NMFS approval.

"We strongly support the Council's recommendation and feel that BRDs when properly installed in shrimp trawl nets help finfish to escape, with minimal reduction in the shrimp catch. However, other measures like seasonal or area closures may still be necessary to help further reduce bycatch of other species, other than finfish, such as crabs and starfish, that are also caught in the nets," said Cufone.

For more information, or to contact The Ocean Conservancy, see their website at: www.oceanconservancy.org