After the Deepwater Horizon disaster, red snapper fishermen pioneered Gulf Wild, an innovative traceability program tracking fish back to the boat and the area they were caught. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink
by Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink and Tim Fitzgerald/Environmental Defense Fund,
The red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico has gotten a little less “Red”. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program has removed the Gulf of Mexico red snapper commercial fishery from their ‘Avoid’ or “Red” list.
According to Tim Fitzgerald, senior policy specialist for Oceans Program at the Environmental Defense Fund, “Our partners at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program, one of the most well-known sustainable seafood program in the United States, have awarded Gulf Red Snapper the ‘Good Alternative’ rating.
“Hearing this today is the most positive fishery success story I have witnessed in the Gulf in years,” said Jim Goosen, chairman of Sysco Louisiana Seafoods in Houston.
13,000 Retail Outlets Follow Seafood Watch
The Seafood Watch program rates seafood on a sustainable basis: Super Green – Healthy for People and Oceans, Green – Best Choices, Yellow – Good Alternatives and Red – Avoid.
The Monterrey Bay Aquarium currently has more than 150 organizational and corporate members worldwide, and is supported by some to the top chefs and restaurants. It estimates that more than 13,000 retail outlets closely follow their buy/don’t buy recommendations.
According to Tim Fitzgerald, senior policy specialist for Oceans Program at the Environmental Defense Fund, “Our partners at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program have awarded Gulf Red Snapper the ‘Good Alternative’ rating. Photo: Environmental Defense Fund
“While there are still improvements to be made in this fishery, let’s take a minute to appreciate how much progress has been made in the last few years,” said Fitzgerald. “Gulf of Mexico red snapper used to be a poster child for unsafe, wasteful fishing. In the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s the fishery was ruled by derby seasons where fishermen raced to catch as much fish as possible a few days every month.”
The derby seasons had tremendous consequences for both fish and fishermen, as quality and profitability suffered and the red snapper population dwindled. Fishermen, managers and conservationists finally recognized the severity of the problem and worked together to get the fishery back on track.
“In 2007, an Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) program, coupled with a scientifically set catch limit, was implemented that put Gulf red snapper on the road to recovery,” the EDF policy specialist explained. “Since then, rebuilding red snapper populations have supported a 70% increase in fishing quotas, waste of marketable fish has declined by about 50%, and fishermen earn 33% more per pound of fish landed.”
Commercial fishing seasons are now yearlong and the sector has demonstrated strong compliance with its catch limit.
“Commercial fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico have been working under a management system of IFQ’s since 2007 that has been working to rebuild the stock, improve safety, reduce discards and ensure a year-round supply of fresh wild caught red snapper,” said TJ Tate, executive director of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders Alliance. “Our organization has been a leader in working for positive changes in the red snapper fishery by supporting and advocating for the IFQ system and taking the extra steps to ensure its success.”
Gulf Wild – Traceability by Commercial Fishermen
After the Deepwater Horizon disaster, red snapper fishermen pioneered an innovative traceability program tracking fish back to the boat and the area they were caught.
According to Tate, “the Alliance created a conservation brand of seafood, Gulf Wild, that places video cameras on vessels, established strict standards on bycatch and discarding, helped design the first of its kind hybrid research project combining the knowledge of commercial fishermen with the expertise of scientists.”
“Thanks to the hard work and efforts of the Gulf’s commercial fishermen, Gulf Wild has established a successful self imposed sustainable practices program,” said Buddy Guindon, a Galveston, TX fisherman and founding member of the program. . Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink
Gulf Wild has been working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seawatch professionals to educate and inform the accredited institute on the positive changes in the fishery and the stewardship of their commercial fishermen.
“Thanks to the hard work and efforts of the Gulf’s commercial fishermen, Gulf Wild has established a successful self imposed sustainable practices program,” said Buddy Guindon, a Galveston, TX fisherman, owner of Katies’s Seafood and founding member of the program. “We are proud that Gulf of Mexico red snapper has been taken off the red list, and look forward to moving it all the way into the green.”
Fishermen enrolled in the program each week tag more than 15,000 red snapper and grouper. Since the program’s inception in 2010, more than a half million tags for 3.5 million pounds of fish have been tracked to 48 states since the program began.
Better management of snapper fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic is paying off,” said Wendy Norden, senior science manager for the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program. Photo: Environmental Defense Fund
“Unfortunately the recreational portion of the fishery, which shares the Gulf red snapper quota about evenly with commercial fishermen, remains saddled with outdated management leading to blown catch limits year after year,” he said. “That’s not because recreational fishermen aren’t responsible or don’t care about sustainability. It’s because the recreational management program is utterly failing.”
The current management system punishes everyone because it is based on antiquated rules and poor monitoring. To make sure recovery doesn’t backslide, new technologies for faster and better data collection, more accurate fish counting and incentives for conservation need to be implemented.
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, the body charged with managing the fishery, are reviewing a number of different proposals to rectify the problems facing the recreational fishery. A number of the proposals show promise, while some could possible create more problems than they solve.
Recreational fishermen need a solution that can work for them on the water while providing the necessary incentives and accountability to ensure long-term sustainability for the fishery – so that being on the “red list” will remain a distant memory.
Better Management Paying Off
“Better management of snapper fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic is paying off,” said Wendy Norden, senior science manager for the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program. Photo: Facebook
“Better management of snapper fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic is paying off,” said Wendy Norden, senior science manager for the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program. “Management has brought overfishing under control, and populations are now showing signs of recovery. The new ‘good alternative’ ranking for most red snapper, vermilion snapper and yellowtail snapper reflects this.”
“Red snapper in South Atlantic fisheries hasn’t yet shown the same recovery and remains on our list of seafood to avoid. We’re hopeful that the management strategies in place will pay off down the road and that these fish populations will rebound as well,” she went on to explain.
The upgrading of red snapper by Seafood Watch acknowledges the fishery’s transition to better management; it means conservation-minded commercial Gulf red snapper fishermen now have access to better marketing opportunities with major sustainable seafood buyers.”
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