May 3, 2004       Volume 28, No. 5     Part II

FEDS PROPOSING T.E.D. RULE CHANGE

The National Marine Fisheries Service is proposing a rule change that would allow shrimpers to use a flap that can be as long as 24 inches past the back edge of the TED frame.

The exact wording of the proposed change is, "Specifically, the proposed rule would allow a single-grid hard TED with the escape opening cut of at least 56 inches wide, and 20 inches forward and aft, covered with a split flap composed of two equal size rectangular panels. Each panel must be no less than 58 inches wide and may overlap each other no more than 15 inches. The panels may only be sewn together along the leading edge of the cut. The edge of the panels may extend no more than 24 inches past the posterior edge of grid, and may be sewn down the entire length of the outside edge of each flap panel. To better preserve the shape of the webbing panels over time, edge lines can be used around the edges of the unattached portion of the flap panels to help maintain the shape of the flap. Edge lines can only be used if the flap panels are sewn down the entire length of the outside edge of each flap panel."

The reference to the edge lines, "Optional edge lines can be used in conjunction with this flap. The line must be made of polyethylene with a maximum diameter of 3/4 inches. A single length of line must be used for each flap panel. The line must be sewn evenly to the unattached, inside edges and trailing edges, of each flap panel. When edge lines are installed, the outside edge of each flap panel must be attached along the entire length of the flap panel."

MANAGING CRAPPIE HIGHS AND LOWS

Crappie are very important game fish in the United States. The two species, black and white combined, ranked as the fourth most popular freshwater fish in the country. Crappie are well-known to have "boom-and-bust" population cycles in lakes and reservoirs. Research indicates that crappie will produce a highly successful spawn (year class) once every 3 to 5 years. The year classes in between are weak and contribute few fish to the harvestable population. Many things seem to influence year class size, most of them beyond to ability of biologists to influence.

In some lakes, biologists have attempted to even out the effects of these population swings by putting regulations in place to stretch out the harvest of crappie from the big year classes. One such lake was Kentucky Lake, a 160 thousand-acre reservoir on the Kentucky/Tennessee border.

Before 1988, crappie were managed in the lake with a 60-fish limit and no size restrictions. In 1988, the daily limit for crappie was reduced to 30 statewide, and in 1991, a 10-inch minimum size was put in place for the lake. It was determined that Kentucky Lake crappie reached 10 inches long by the end of their third growing season. The average size for crappie harvested in previous years was 10.6 inches long.

Crappie populations in the lake were monitored before and after the minimum size regulations were put into effect. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources biologists used trap nets from 1985 to 2000 to sample the population. In 1998, a total of 998 crappie were tagged with $5 reward tags and released. Finally, anglers were interviewed by biologists in 1984-87, 1991, and 1998.

The biologists found that even though strong year classes cycled through the population from 1993 through 2000, the number of 10-inch and larger fish collected in the trap nets stayed fairly high and didn't cycle as much. Survival of crappie from age 1 to age 2 and from age 3 to age 4 increased significantly. Survival from age 2 to age 3 increased, but by a lesser amount. After the minimum size limit was put in place, the crappie population contained a higher percentage of older fish.

Growth rates for both species sampled with trap nets showed a sight decline after the 10-inch size was put in place. The regulation changes did not affect the swings in year class success, which are most probably related to environmental conditions. However, in Kentucky Lake the minimum length limit did increase the number of adult crappie in the population and did smooth out the harvest differences due to year class success. Minimum size regulations may not work for crappie in many other areas. This is especially the case for crappie populations with slow growth rates or high death rates.

Source: Response of the Crappie Population to Regulatory Changes in Kentucky Lake, Kentucky: A Case History. Paul W. Rister. Proceedings of the Fifty-fifth Annual Conference, Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. 2001.

 

FLORIDA PROPOSES BIG CHANGES IN CRAB MANAGEMENT

If anything like the proposals that were heard at recent public hearings in Florida go into effect, blue crab management there will make a dramatic change. In 1998, the Florida Legislature, concerned about rapid growth and other problems in the blue crab fishery, established a moratorium on the issuance of new blue crab endorsements (licenses). After the moratorium expired in 2000, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) extended it until July 1, 2005. Problems in the fishery included the seasonal crowding of traps in confined water bodies, lost traps and bycatch, so many fishermen and traps that fishermen were forced into part-time participation, licenses that were being issued but not being used, conflict between local and outside crabbers, conflict between soft crab and hard crab producers, and regional concerns about declining crab abundance.

In April 2002, FWC contracted the University of Florida Sea Grant College Program to conduct a series of workshops to get fishermen's comments regarding the important needs of the fishery The final report, received on March 25, 2003, provided information about blue crab regulations in ten other Southeastern states and summaries of the 16 workshops held in Florida between July 2002 and January 2003.

In summer 2003, FWC put together an ad hoc Blue Crab Advisory Board consisting of 15 crab harvesters and wholesale dealers and one voting member of FWC. The 15 crab industry members were chosen from 43 applications that came in as a result of letters sent to all license holders. With help from FWC staff and the Florida State University Conflict Resolution Consortium, the Board's job was to develop a fishery strategic plan which would manage fishing effort. Over the course of 4 meetings (three of which lasted 2 days), the Blue Crab Advisory Board came up with two plans.

The preferred plan would divide the fishery into two parts, hard crab and soft crab. It would cap the number of permitted hard crab fishermen to those who qualified by landing at least 500 pounds of hard crabs in any one year of last 3 license years. Soft crabbers would qualify by landing at least 750 crabs in any one year during the 3 years. The license fee for hard crabs would be $125, and for soft crabs it would be $250. Each license includes $25 to use for derelict crab trap clean-up. Hard crabbers would be limited to 600 traps and soft crabbers to 400, with each getting an extra 50 traps for rotation. Each trap would have to be tagged. After the moratorium ends, the licenses would be transferable. In order to get into either fishery, a person would have to buy a license and trap tags from someone leaving the fishery.

The alternative plan would create a trap certificate program. Both hard and soft crab fishermen would have to qualify under the same rules as in the preferred plan. License fees and limits would also be the same. All traps would have individual tags/certificates. The number of fishermen under this plan would not be capped, but the overall number of trap tags/certificates would be capped at those numbers that exist after first qualification. After the moratorium ends, commercial fishermen could buy certificates freely from those who wish to sell them, and fish the traps for one year to qualify. In each sale outside of those made to immediate family members, 10% of the certificates sold would be retired.

Several recommendations apply to both plans, including:

1. A first year trap tag fee of $1.00 per trap, and $.50 per tag every year after.
2. Establishing an apprenticeship program for persons wanting to enter the blue crab fishery. Such a person would have to work on an existing blue crab vessel for two weeks to qualify them to buy into the fishery.
3. Federal offshore waters would be a crab sanctuary.
4. Short regional rotating closures would be made for trap clean-up projects.
5. A 150-peeler bycatch in hard crab traps would be a allowed and no soft shell license would be required for shedding operations with 1-3 tanks.
6. A permanent Blue Crab Advisory Board would be established.

These recommendations are a first draft and likely will change, at least partly, as a result of public input at workshops held in April, further analysis of trip ticket data and FWC input.

RED SNAPPER FISHING QUOTA PROGRAM APPROVED

Eligible commercial fishermen have voted to approve the development of an individual fishing quota (IFQ) system for the management of red snappers in the Gulf of Mexico. The National Marine Fisheries Service mailed out ballots to 157 eligible voters. Of these, 145 were returned and 104 (92%) voted in approval. The ballots were "weighted" based on historical levels of par- ticipation. The 104 ballots provided 8,194,024 "yes" votes (81%) and 1,962,433 "no" votes.

An IFQ system is a form of limited entry in which a total commercial fish quota is divided into individual shares, usually based on historical landings by the fishermen. With their IFQs, fishermen can fish and land their catch at the time of the year that

works out best for them. IFQs are designed to replace the "derby system" produced by the creation of an overall quota for a fishery and allowing anyone with a license to fish. That system forces fishermen to race with other fishermen to catch the fish before the overall quota is met. Because of the mad rush, fishermen must often fish in dangerous weather conditions, the quality of the fish landed may suffer because the emphasis is on catching large quantities of fish quickly, and market prices decline because of gluts of fish in the marketplace.

Based on the results of the vote, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council has the authority to develop an IFQ plan as an amendment to the Reef Fish Plan. After development, the plan must then again go back before the eligible voters for approval. If it passes this vote, it will be submitted to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce for review, and approval or disapproval. The secretary is not forced to enact the IFQ plan, even if both votes approved it.

UNDERWATER OBSTRUCTION LOCATIONS

The Louisiana Fishermen's Gear Compensation Fund has asked that we print the coordinates of sites for which damage has been claimed in the last two months. The coordinates are list below.

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THE GUMBO POT

Mama's Crawfish Bisque

Crawfish bisques are a lot of work. That is why my heart fell when Ms. Lucy told me it was a must-try recipe from her cookbook Classic Cajun Culture & Cooking. Ms. Lucy's cookbook is now in its eight printing since 1994. I met Lucy Henry Zaunbrecher when she was dishing out wonderful Louisiana seafood gumbo from the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board booth at the Boston Seafood Show. I did end up trying the bisque and it was worth the work, so I want to share it with you. To cut down on the work all at one time, I saved the crawfish heads for stuffing from a boil, cleaned them, and froze them until I was ready to cook the bisque. Be sure to remove the eyes with the rest of the stuff from inside the shell.

To prepare stuffing, grind 1 pound of chopped crawfish meat with onions, bell peppers, and garlic. Salt and pepper to taste, add ground bread to crawfish mixture and mix thoroughly until firm in consistency (forms small balls in palm of hand). To stuff the shells, take 1½ teaspoons of stuffing and pack firmly into body shells until all the stuffing has been used. Set aside and allow to set in refrigerator overnight, if possible.

To prepare the gravy, mix oil and flour in a heavy saucepan. Cook over a medium high heat, stirring constantly until dark brown. Add 1 pint water slowly and allow to slow boil for 30 minutes, until pretty thick. You can add more water if necessary to make the gravy lighter, do not exceed one pint.

To prepare the finished product, add the stuffed crawfish bodies to the roux gravy which is slowly boiling. Then add whole crawfish tails. Add the green onion tops and season to taste with salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Allow to cook on a medium heat for thirty minutes. Boil or steam rice while bisque is cooking. Serve in gumbo bowls over rice. Serves 4-5.

Sincerely,

Jerald Horst Associate Professor, Fisheries