Public Hearing Results Caribbean Fishery Management Council 150 th Meeting, August 11-12, 2014 Rio Grande, Puerto Rico Draft Amendment/Environmental Assessment

DATES AND ADDRESSES: The Public Hearings and Scoping Meetings were held on the following dates and locations: In the U.S. Virgin Islands: June 23 rd, :00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Windward Passage Hotel, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. June 24 th, :00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. – Buccaneer Hotel, Estate Shoys, Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands In Puerto Rico: June 23 rd, 2014 – 7:00 p.m.- 10:00 p.m. - at the Holiday Inn Ponce & Tropical Casino, 3315 Ponce By Pass, Ponce, Puerto Rico. June 24 th, 2014 – 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. – Doubletree by Hilton San Juan Hotel, De Diego Avenue, San Juan, Puerto Rico. June 25 th, 2014 – 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Club Náutico de Arecibo, Rd. 681 Km 1.4, Arecibo, Puerto Rico June 26 th, :00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. - Mayagüez Holiday Inn, 2701 Hostos Avenue, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico You added Mayagüez Resort & Casino June 30 th, :00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. – Asociación de Pescadores Unidos de Playa Húcares de Naguabo, Naguabo, Puerto Rico.

Need for Action The proposed mechanism would adjust the buffer reduction as appropriate to reflect a change in classification of the FMUs. This amendment will provide for a new and straightforward process that will allow for ACL revisions based on OFL status. This process will be examined annually in terms of the overfishing determination.

PROPOSED ACTION: Establish a control rule to adjust the buffer reduction applied to the overfishing limit (OFL) or to the acceptable biological catch (ABC) used to derive the annual catch limit (ACL) to reflect a change in overfishing status of the stock Alternative 1: No Action. Do not establish a control rule to adjust the buffer reduction applied to the OFL or the ABC to determine the ACL for all fishery management units (FMUs) for which harvest is allowed. The buffer reductions to the OFL or the ABC would continue to be those defined in the 2010 and 2011 Caribbean ACL Amendments

PROPOSED ACTION: Establish a control rule to adjust the buffer reduction applied to the overfishing limit (OFL) or to the acceptable biological catch (ABC) used to derive the annual catch limit (ACL) to reflect a change in overfishing status of the stock Alternative 2: For all FMUs for which harvest is allowed (or where applicable), establish an ACL Control Rule where: ACL = [OFL (or ABC) x (0.85)] for FMUs determined to be subject to overfishing, and where ACL = [OFL (or ABC) x (0.90)] for FMUs determined not to be subject to overfishing in a specific year.

PROPOSED ACTION: Establish a control rule to adjust the buffer reduction applied to the overfishing limit (OFL) or to the acceptable biological catch (ABC) used to derive the annual catch limit (ACL) to reflect a change in overfishing status of the stock Alternative 3: (Preferred): Establish an ACL Control Rule where ACL = [OFL (or ABC) x (0.85)] for FMUs determined to be subject to overfishing, and where ACL = [OFL (or ABC) x (0.90)] for FMUs determined not to be subject to overfishing in a specific year. The ACL control rule would apply to FMUs for which harvest is allowed, with the exception of the following FMUs, for which buffer reductions to the OFL or ABC specified in the 2010 and/or 2011 Caribbean ACL amendment would continue to be applied to derive the ACL:

Preferred Alternative 3: EXCEPTIONS Preferred Sub-Alt. 3a. Parrotfish FMU: ACL = [ABC x (0.85)] for the ecological role of parrotfish as herbivores in coral reefs. An additional % reduction to the ACL of the parrotfish FMU would continue to be applied in the St. Croix management area Preferred Sub-Alt. 3b. Surgeonfish FMU: ACL = [ABC x (0.75)] for the ecological role of surgeonfish as herbivores in coral reefs. Preferred Sub-Alt. 3c. Angelfish FMU: ACL = [ABC x (0.75)] for the ecological role of angelfish as spongivores in coral reefs. Preferred Sub-Alt. 3d. Queen conch FMU: for St. Croix, ACL = ABC specified by the SSC (50,000 lbs). For Puerto Rico and St. Thomas/St. John, ACL = 0. Preferred Sub-Alt. 3e. Aquarium Trade Species FMU: ACL = [ABC x (0.75)] for aquarium trade species in the Coral and Reef Fish FMPs.

Summary of Changes to ACLs under Preferred Alternative 3 under current overfishing status scenarios *( subject to change ) U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | NOAA Fisheries | Page 8 ACL for all grouper and snapper units on all islands/sectors would increase by approximately 5% ACLs for queen conch and parrotfish (all islands/sectors) would remain the same as established in the 2010 Caribbean ACL Amendment ACLs for surgeonfish, angelfish (all islands/sectors) and the Caribbean-wide aquarium trade species FMUs would remain the same as established in the 2011 Caribbean ACL Amendment No change in ACL for the remainder of 2011 stocks on each island including the Caribbean-wide tilefish FMU

Participation and Comments Received: #People presentCommentsWritten Comments St. Thomas122*^0 Ponce000 St. Croix300 San Juan2530 Arecibo**1450 Mayagüez**1711 Naguabo**2880 Written Comments (07/25/14) 2 *STFA: Preferred Alternative ^ Preferred Alternative **Presidents and Representatives speaking on behalf of fishing associations

Comments Received: Alternative 1Alternative 2Alternative 3 (Preferred) St. Thomas (12/2/2) 2 Ponce (0/0/0) St. Croix (3/0/0) San Juan (25/3/3) 12 Arecibo (14/5/2) 3 Mayagüez (17/5/1) 1 Naguabo (28/8/2) 11

Other Comments Received: All comments received are in the Summary Minutes of each meeting STFA STFA-ACLModification.pdf EarthJustice (July with references) EJ-CBD-CORALations Caribbean ACL-AM comments_FINAL_ pdf EJ-CBD-CORALations Caribbean ACL-AM comments_FINAL_ pdf

Codified Text: ACL Control Rule Codified-v2.0.pdf

If unit changes in status in a particular year: - NMFS will officially notify the Council by letter regarding the status change and the corresponding change to a new buffer reduction value. - NMFS would apply the buffer reduction defined by the control rule as specified in the corresponding FMP, and the ACL for the next year for that particular FMU would be adjusted. * Notification of changes: The NMFS SERO website will be annually updated to reflect the overfishing status and corresponding ACL for each unit per island and sector. Fishery Bulletin U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | NOAA Fisheries | Page 16 Annual process that would be used to apply the ACL Control Rule

Draft Timeline (with August Meeting) April 22-23, August Council discusses outcomes of Public Hearings and considers comments on Amendment/ DRAFT EA. Council revises and approves codified text. Council approves Amendment for Secretarial Review. November 2014 February 2015 Today NOAA publishes Comprehensive Amendment / Final EA and Final Rule. Final Rule Effective (~ March 2015) Amendment/EA and Proposed Rule Published Comment Period Council reviews PHD/EA, select preferred alternative(s) and approves for Public Hearings. Public Hearings in PR and USVI (JUNE 2014)

NEXT STEPS 1. Motion to Approve/Disapprove FMP Amendment/EA for Secretarial Review and deem codified text 2. Council submits Amendment 3. NMFS prepares proposed rule

Secretarial Review Approved/Disapproved

FMU Individual OFL (lbs) Caribbean-Wide OFL (lbs) Puerto Rico St. Croix St. Thomas/St. John Sectors CommercialRecreational Queen Conch 403,349N/A107,7201,649512,718 Snapper SU 1334,923112, ,113157,3821,915,759 SU 2171,66640,953 SU 3406,79497,833 SU 4439,17133,540 Total1,352,554284,710 Grouper 208,83990,83935,80660,999396,483 Parrotfish 127,980N/A293,21948,818507,059 Table Overfishing limits for stocks addressed in the 2010 and 2011 Caribbean ACL Amendments. FMU Individual OFL (lbs) FMU Caribbean- Wide OFL Puerto Rico St. Croix St. Thomas/ St. John Sectors CommercialRecreational Angelfish11,9785, ,529Tilefish16,269 Boxfish95,6835,1299,37030,978Aquarium trade10,873 Goatfishes19, , Grunts202,6625,58740,97941,797 Jacks95,62156,66817,21058,785 Porgies27,4882,8635,15324,243 Spiny Lobster364, ,230115,777 Squirrelfish18,5144, ,712 Surgeonfish9,5724,78644,80438,999 Triggerfish & Filefish64,97224,36527,75582,719 Wrasses60,1635,

1 Queen conch landings data is provided only for informational purposes as harvest of queen conch is prohibited in Puerto Rico federal waters. Recreational landings data for queen conch is not collected, therefore is not available. 2 Commercial landings for 2012 for Puerto Rico are not provided because they were not available at the time of preparation of this PHD 3 Caribbean-wide OFLs combine the individual OFLs from all islands/island groups and both the recreational and commercial sectors. FMU U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Croix (STX) and St. Thomas/St. John (STT/STJ) Caribbean- Wide OFL (lbs) 2 STXSTT/STJSTXSTT/STJSTXSTT/STJSTXSTT/STJSTXSTT/STJ Queen Conch123, ,5571,32981,9171,57753,2101,93036, ,718 Snapper112,389145,18796,393143,61592,354121,18684,46376,25964,26253,6241,915,759 Grouper29,58556,91034,65068,60229,11760,80630,80053,17029,85341,184396,483 Parrotfish354,99739,613316,09433,049162,62334,010154,53123,289118,79817,224507,059 1 Queen conch landings data is provided only for informational purposes as harvest of queen conch is prohibited in St. Thomas/St. John federal waters. 2 Caribbean-wide OFLs combine the individual OFLs from all islands/island groups and both the recreational and commercial sectors. PR commercial and recreational landings, and USVI commercial landings in pounds (lbs) for the most recent years and Caribbean-Wide OFL for 2010 stocks. FMU Puerto Rico Caribbean- Wide OFL (lbs) 3 CommRecCommRecCommRecCommRecComm 2 Rec Queen Conch 1 242, , , ,759--Not avail.--512,718 SU 1352,975123,831369,17947,995276,52842,068149,26833,760 Not avail. 36,456 1,915,759 SU 2261,99862,761239,9774,542384,87710,169218,8540 Not avail. 7,379 SU 3175,32173,852148,12739,344174,10835,193167,30320,874 Not avail. 41,070 SU 4365,86820,202222,69817,015215,40410,147151,2849,343 Not avail. 17,249 Grouper87,738114,76387,13531,63592,16221,50659,7157,800 Not avail. 18,677396,483 Parrotfish90,45048,12954,55549,61343,90910,49838,15410,280 Not avail. 9,452507,059

FMU Puerto Rico OFL (lbs) CommRecCommRecCommRecCommRecCommRecComm.Rec. Angelfish NA011,9785,989 Boxfish51,3975,45458,9792,72157, ,3262,474NA1,40195,6835,129 Goatfishes5,21509, ,45906,812280NA13919, Grunts69,5755,97684,5375,26165,6011,55639,9542,109NA3,603202,6625,587 Jacks104,49848,78888,38549,96267,58926,66935,52831,469NA57,66895,62156,668 Porgies28,3281,86123, , ,6551,812NA1,65327,4882,863 Spiny Lobster329, , , ,318--NA--364,355-- Squirrelfish19,43015,46010,3851,1078, ,732754NA37018,5144,323 Surgeonfish NA09,5724,786 Triggerfish & Filefish 55,36162,52547,19417,72145,6506,16850,7141,970NA13,00564,97224,365 Wrasses54,98026,40467,18711,73759,42710,12253,6235,539NA3,23760,1635,611 Table Puerto Rico commercial and recreational landings in pounds (lbs) for the most recent years of available information ( Commercial sector, Recreational sector) and Caribbean-Wide OFL for 2011 stocks.

FMU U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Croix (STX) and St. Thomas/St. John (STT/STJ) OFL (lbs) STXSTT/ STJSTXSTT/ STJSTX STT/ STJ STXSTT/ STJSTXSTT/ STJSTXSTT/ STJ Angelfish638,365999, ,5868,51018,33714,25316, ,529 Boxfish8,26833,0087,41830,3234,30225,8135,33515,7571,81912,2889,37030,978 Goatfishes1,775742, , Grunts39,83639,14446,78936,55732,51438,40734,41825,40224,76116,10240,97941,797 Jacks8,71556,19711,88168,47812,35846,04310,34135,0498,35545,52317,21058,785 Porgies5,69422,2874,24921,6035,18920,3872,6988, ,15324,243 Spiny Lobster 148,003110,465149,908115,762139, , ,75184,30286,91783,138119,230115,777 Squirrelfish773,792323,04572,3662,7686,5103,8349, ,712 Surgeonfish38,12737,40737,27431,71829,64531,92732,18719,29421,23115,07844,80438,999 Triggerfish & Filefish 32,69884,13138,73579,46930,71179,55526,46457,06722,64445,98927,75582,719 Wrasses068501,35902,517491,959241, Table St. Croix and St. Thomas/St. John commercial landings in pounds (lbs) for the most recent five years of available information ( ) and individual OFLs for 2011 stocks. 1 USVI high landings of angelfish, squirrelfish, and wrasses were attributed to enhanced reporting resulting from modifications to the reporting forms that started in FMU OFL Tilefish002, ,269 Aquarium trade1,0571,1991,2241,4991,46910,873 Landings in pounds (lbs) for the most recent five years of available information ( ) and Caribbean-wide OFLs