The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s (SAFMC) Dolphin/Wahoo Fisheries Management Plan calls for a precautionary management approach to be taken when further research may be needed to define appropriate management measures. At its June meeting, the Council heard overwhelming public comment on the current need for stronger precautionary regulations to address the widely recognized decline in the size and number of dolphin being encountered along parts of the U.S. East Coast while further research and analysis is taking place to understand the reasons. Among those providing public comments were two active DRP taggers as well as our organization (see next article below).
During the meeting, the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Science Center presented plans to begin work on a Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) based on data from the U.S. Atlantic pelagic longline fishery. The goal of the project is to develop an index-based management procedure to provide information for analysis and management evaluations of the fishery, and the DRP has been involved in the preliminary work that has taken place. Due to SAFMC staff limitations, adequate support over the remainder of the year for stronger precautionary measures is not possible. The Council made the decision to move forward with the early stages of the MSE and delay, to at least its December meeting, the consideration of stronger, precautionary management measures through Regulatory Amendment 3. This was the second delay for the amendment this year which means any stronger management measures now will not be implemented before 2024 at the earliest. We will keep you posted on future developments.
