Tag Archives: vermilion snapper

Freeport fisherman to be sentenced for catching red snapper without commercial license

December 15, 2017   Gulf of Mexico

A Freeport man is set to be sentenced Friday in a Houston federal court for lying to federal agents about a massive and unauthorized red snapper haul last March. Jamal Marshall, 36, who was only licensed for recreational fishing, pleaded guilty on Aug. 24 for lying to federal agents about hundreds of fish he’d brought in. He had 488 red snapper and 154 vermilion snapper on board the vessel when stopped by officials, a gross violation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) catch limits. The fish had a market value of $30,000. But Marshall also admitted he had sold $35,000 worth of fish to Houston-area restaurants. click here to read the story 09:21

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Controversy brewing over snapper-grouper Exempted Fishing Permit

March 4, 2017   South Atlantic

A storm is brewing in the South Atlantic region, a storm of controversy over snapper-grouper fisheries access and allocation. A group of four commercial fishing businesses – the South Atlantic Commercial Fishing Collaborative – filed an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) application with the National Marine Fisheries Service on Feb. 6. If approved by NMFS, the EFP would allow a group of 25 snapper-grouper boats operated by the four businesses to harvest blueline tilefish, gag grouper, gray triggerfish, greater amberjack, vermilion snapper and species in the jacks complex for two years (2018-19) in a pilot program while being exempt from numerous fishing regulations. The generic name for such a fisheries management method is catch shares, which, according to NOAA Fisheries, is a program in which “a portion of the catch for a species is allocated to individual fishermen or groups. Each holder of a catch share must stop fishing when his/her specific share of the quota is reached.” But it is a concept the huge majority of saltwater fishermen – recreational fishermen and small commercial fishing operations – have proven to be vehemently opposed to. continue reading the story here 08:12

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