Red Snapper: Ecology and Fisheries in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

Rebuilding Red Snapper: Recent Management Activities and Future Management Challenges

Andrew J. Strelcheck and Peter B. Hood

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781888569971.ch25

Abstract.—The Gulf of Mexico red snapper Lutjanus campechanus population was first declared overfished in the late 1980s. Subsequent stock assessments have concluded the population remains overfished and is undergoing overfishing. The first rebuilding plan for red snapper was established in 1989, setting a target of rebuilding the red snapper population by 2000. Changes in scientific advice and new information on red snapper biology resulted in several revisions to this plan. The most recent revision was approved in 2004 and set a goal of rebuilding red snapper to maximum sustainable yield by 2032. Despite the recent implementation of this plan, a 2005 red snapper population assessment indicates additional management restrictions are necessary for this plan to be successful. Managers are now confronted with several challenges to successfully recover red snapper, including addressing bycatch in the shrimp fishery and reducing discard and fishing mortality in the directed fishery. Social and economic considerations, competing conservation mandates, regulatory consistency, scientific uncertainty, political intentions, and the length of time allowed for recovery further complicate management and stock rebuilding. Managers will need to continue to focus on short-term directions and periodically adjust management strategies to ensure adequate rebuilding progress is made. This will allow managers to incorporate new information and unanticipated developments when making adjustments to red snapper and shrimp regulations, should either insufficient progress or unexpected events occur.