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Regulatory amendment 2 to the fishery management plan for the queen conch resources of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) : compatibility of trip and bag limits in the management area of St. Croix, USVI
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2013
[PDF-4.18 MB]
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Alternative Title:Compatibility of trip and bag limits in the management area of St. Croix, USVI;Queen conch FMP, regulatory amendment 2, trip/bag limits;Regulatory amendment 2 to the fishery management plan for the queen conch resources of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI);
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Description:"The Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Council), in collaboration with the National Marine Fisheries Service, prepared Regulatory Amendment 2 to the Queen Conch Fishery Management Plan to address compatibility issues in the harvest of queen conch in the U.S. Caribbean exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Fishing and possession of queen conch in the U.S. Caribbean EEZ is only allowed in the area of Lang Bank, to the east of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). However, current regulations regarding the commercial trip limit and the recreational bag limit for the harvest of queen conch in federal waters are not compatible with USVI regulations. Compatibility of regulations is a means of enhancing enforcement efficiency. The current trip limit in federal waters allows a licensed commercial fisherman to harvest up to 150 queen conch per day, but does not establish a harvest limit per vessel. USVI regulations allow the harvest of 200 queen conch per vessel per day regardless of the number of licensed fishermen on board. The daily recreational bag limit in federal waters allows three queen conch per person and a maximum of 12 queen conch per vessel. In contrast, the USVI daily recreational bag limit consists of six queen conch per person and a maximum of 24 per vessel. The USVI has expressed interest in having federal regulations modified to make them compatible with the territorial limits to facilitate enforcement efforts, enhance compliance by fishers, and allow for more efficient management of queen conch resources in the U.S. Caribbean. Queen conch is currently classified as an overfished species, and it is managed under a 15-year rebuilding plan. The goal of Regulatory Amendment 2 is to consider state-federal compatibility of queen conch daily harvest limits via separate actions applicable to the commercial and recreational sectors. At its 145th meeting (March 26-27, 2013), the Council chose as preferred alternatives to establish a daily commercial trip limit of 200 queen conch per vessel and to leave the recreational bag limit unchanged. Compatibility with the USVI's commercial regulations will reduce confusion among fishers and increase law enforcement efficiency. However, because the federal recreational bag limit is less than the territorial limit, the Council chose to maintain that lower bag limit as a preferred alternative. Increasing the recreational limit does little to assist law enforcement and may have negative consequences with respect to the continued health of the queen conch resource"--Summary (page iii).
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Rights Information:Public Domain
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Compliance:Submitted
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