Development of Island-Based FMPs Caribbean Fishery Management Council 152 nd Meeting April 2015 Divi Carina Hotel, St. Croix, USVI

Why an Island-Based FMP? Manage the specific fisheries of each Island based on the species targeted, gears used, available markets, economies, fisheries, and social and cultural idiosyncrasies.

Actions to Date CFMC Agenda Item in Meetings: 143 rd -152 nd Scoping Meetings: July 2012; July-August 2013; April (reports to 147 th and 149 th CFMC meetings) SSC Recommendations to CFMC (November 2013 to present) Ad hoc Committee established

Actions to Date -Continuation APs Recommendations to CFMC (August 2013) District Advisory Panels (DAPs) established 1 st Meeting DAPs (March 2015) Topic of discussion: species selection action and alternatives

What is being discussed? Developing criteria for objectively identifying species in need of management in the US Caribbean The criteria will be used separately for each Island FMP: – Puerto Rico FMP – St. Thomas/St. John FMP – St. Croix FMP

Action and Alternatives One Action and 3 Alternatives have been considered. These were taken to the DAPs and the SSC

Action 1. Determine species to be included for management in the FMP. Alternative 1. No action. All historically managed species within the FMPs. – Spiny Lobster FMU = 1 species – Reef Fish FMP = 81 species + 58 aquarium trade – Queen Conch FMP = 1 species – Coral FMP = 94 species or species groups + 63 aquarium trade invertebrates

Action 1. Determine species to be included for management in the FMP. Alternative 2. Identify species to be managed in EEZ waters using all or some of the criteria listed below. – Criterion A. Species occurrence in state waters. – Criterion B. Status of the stock. – Criterion C. Species as a component of the catch. – Criterion D. Ecologically essential species.

Action 1. Determine species to be included for management in the FMP. Alternative 3. Identify species to be managed in EEZ waters using an integrated attributes analysis.

Table 1. Example of the attribute-based selection table that would be used to score all the species. Scoring will be conducted by an expert panel and the resultant average score compared against a threshold selected by the Council. Species whose average score is above that threshold will be included for federal management in St. Croix EEZ waters. Species/ Species Complex Biology Habitat Specificity Economic Importance Target Species Bycatch Ecological Importance ScoreResult Species 1 Species 2 Species 3 Species 4

Action 1 Alternative 3 (Stepwise Approach) SpeciesBiologyHabitat Specificity Economic Importance Target Species BycatchEcological Importance ScoreOutcome species X Species that don’t meet the criteria above to be IN or OUT proceed for consideration to the table below IN - Species in FMP OUT - Species not in FMP Above threshold Below threshold Landings are available If most of the occurrence is in state waters, the species is out Protected or Overfished If currently listed as overfished, the species is in Landings Threshold Landings Threshold If landing threshold met, the species is in State vs. Federal Species is out of the FMP Species is in the FMP Species without reported landings are out

St. Croix commercial landings U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | NOAA Fisheries | Page 12

St. Croix commercial landings U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | NOAA Fisheries | Page 13 species2012 landings2013 landingsmean landings LOBSTERS, SPINY86,94759,398 73,173 PARROTFISH, STOPLIGHT41,86933,773 37,821 DOLPHIN34,83235,566 35,199 CONCH, QUEEN36,77121,431 29,101 TRIGGERFISH, QUEEN22,26213,646 17,954 PARROTFISH, PRINCESS18,14015,265 16,702 WAHOO8,67824,413 16,545 PARROTFISH, QUEEN17,47514,958 16,217 PARROTFISH, REDFIN15,33116,264 15,798 HIND, RED17,22513,327 15,276 PARROTFISH, REDTAIL12,68414,176 13,430 PARROTFISH, REDBAND13,26412,964 13,114 SNAPPER, BLACKFIN11,50814,542 13,025 BALLYHOO10,01714,656 12,336 TUNNY, LITTLE5,92518,249 12,087 MACKEREL, KING3,94418,842 11,393 SCHOOLMASTER13,0128,619 10,816 SNAPPER, SILK7,96912,944 10,456 CONEY10,9559,570 10,262 GRUNT, BLUESTRIPED11,0438,915 9,979 JACK, BAR6,35913,189 9,774 TANG, BLUE11,3908,135 9,763 GRUNT, WHITE10,6967,181 8,938 SNAPPER, YELLOWTAIL9,4007,497 8,449 SNAPPER, GRAY7,6816,580 7,130 SNAPPER, MUTTON8,1935,827 7,010 ANGELFISH, FRENCH5,6824,551 5,117 ANGELFISH, GRAY6,1512,377 4,264 SURGEON, OCEAN4,9842,620 3,802 SNAPPER, QUEEN3,8653,410 3,638 species2012 value2013 valuemean value LOBSTERS, SPINY695,578475, ,381 DOLPHIN229,891234, ,319 CONCH, QUEEN257,395150, ,707 PARROTFISH, STOPLIGHT209,344168, ,105 WAHOO57,273161, ,204 HIND, RED103,35379,961 91,657 TRIGGERFISH, QUEEN111,31068,228 89,769 PARROTFISH, PRINCESS90,70076,323 83,512 PARROTFISH, QUEEN87,37474,791 81,083 TUNNY, LITTLE39,107120,456 79,782 PARROTFISH, REDFIN76,65581,321 78,988 SNAPPER, BLACKFIN69,04887,252 78,150 MACKEREL, KING23,667113,052 68,360 PARROTFISH, REDTAIL63,42070,880 67,150 PARROTFISH, REDBAND66,32164,821 65,571 SCHOOLMASTER78,07451,715 64,895 SNAPPER, SILK47,81277,663 62,738 BALLYHOO50,08573,279 61,682 CONEY65,73157,419 61,575 GRUNT, BLUESTRIPED64,06151,711 57,886 GRUNT, WHITE62,04141,649 51,845 SNAPPER, YELLOWTAIL56,40144,984 50,693 JACK, BAR31,79465,944 48,869 TANG, BLUE56,95040,675 48,813 SNAPPER, GRAY46,08339,480 42,782 SNAPPER, MUTTON49,16134,960 42,061 SNAPPER, QUEEN23,19320,459 21,826 SURGEON, OCEAN24,92013,100 19,010 SNAPPER, MAHOGANY15,48018,888 17,184 TUNA, YELLOWFIN29,9324,171 17,052

Species Selection Criteria Island-based FMPs Concept of Thresholds Are there upper and lower thresholds (lbs,$) for inclusion and/or exclusion of species? Where would thresholds be applied? Can concept of Ecosystem Component Species be applied? Habitat Specificity Range Economic Importance Target Species Bycatch Yearly Mean Landings Ecological Value Protected/Managed Resource

Species Selection Criteria Concept of Thresholds St. Thomas/St.John – 101 species (or groups) St. Croix – 99 species Puerto Rico – Commercial – 174 species – Recreational – 226 species All included species need ACLs

Species Selection Criteria Concept of Thresholds Example: Puerto Rico commercial landings 48 “species” within 99% cumulative landings 125 species above 99% Those above range from 3,000 lbs to 1 lb average But include – Nassau, goliath, yellowfin & yellowedge groupers – Rainbow parrotfish – Cubera, dog, gray, schoolmaster & mahogony snappers – Sharks and rays Problems with FMUs and data at family level

Draft Criteria Biology – defined as question of vulnerability/productivity. Is species particularly at risk? Habitat Specificity– defined as a question of vulnerability due to particular dependence on limited or vulnerable habitat during some life stage Range – defined as whether species is either 1) effectively limited to local waters, 2) limited to EEZ, 3) spans both, or 4) is a HMS [=State vs EEZ] Economic Importance – defined as total economic value, not just ex-vessel price. This would include, for example, nonconsumptive use, recreational value, targeted species, “filler” species and socio-cultural importance

Draft Criteria Target species vs Bycatch Landings – to be used first to establish lower and upper thresholds for automatic rejection from or inclusion in an FMP, respectively. Ecological Value Importance– defined as having a unique or large ecological function relative to habitat (esp. coral reefs), or trophic/community structure, e.g., keystone species, apex predator, key forage species such that management is needed to sustain that function. Protected/Management Status – defined as whether the species is fully protected or partially protected within an existing management framework within EEZ or local waters

Recommendations to CFMC DAP Puerto Rico PR DAP meeting March docxPR DAP meeting March docx DAP St. Thomas/St. John STT DAP meeting March docxSTT DAP meeting March docx DAP St. Croix STX DAP meeting March docxSTX DAP meeting March docx SSC SSC Report March 2015 draft.docxSSC Report March 2015 draft.docx

Choosing Species to Manage in the U.S. Caribbean DISCUSSION REVISED Alternative Approach 3 (DAPs): 3) Use a stepwise selection process: A)Include for management those species that are classified as overfished in U.S. Caribbean waters based on NOAA Fisheries’ determination, or for which historically identified harvest is now prohibited due to their ecological importance as habitat (corals presently included in the Corals and Reef Associated Plants and Invertebrates FMP) or habitat engineers (midnight, blue, rainbow parrotfish); B)From the remainder, exclude from federal management those species that have been determined to not occur in federal waters based on expert analysis of the species distribution and range; C)From the remainder, consider the species as a component of the catch; D)From the remainder, apply an integrated attributes analysis: score the remaining species using a tabular approach, with those scoring above a threshold level included for federal management.