1. Compatibility of Commercial Trip Limits and Recreational Bag Limits in the Management Area of St. Croix, USVI Regulatory Amendment 2 Queen Conch Fishery Management Plan 145 th Council Meeting March 26-27, 2013

2. 2 Queen Conch Harvest USVI Territorial waters Federal waters (in the area east of 64°34' W, bound within the 100-fathom curve, which includes Lang Bank to the east of St. Croix) Open Season : November 1 - May 31 Closed Season: June 1 – October 31 STX Territorial/Federal Quota: 50,000 lbs combined state and federal waters

3. 3 Purpose and Need for Action To establish compatible regulations for commercial and recreational harvest of queen conch between the U.S. Caribbean exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and USVI territorial regulations. Compatibility of regulations will aid in the enforcement of queen conch regulations and enhance compliance by eliminating the inconsistency in the number of queen conch allowed to be possessed on the water.

4. 4 Federal vs. Territorial Management FederalUSVI (St. Croix) Commercial Trip Limits 150 queen conch per licensed fisherman /day 200 queen conch per vessel /day Recreational Bag Limits 3 queen conch per person /day Max. 12 queen conch per vessel /day 6 queen conch per person /day Max. 24 queen conch per vessel /day

5. 5 Action 1: Modify the trip limit for the commercial harvest of queen conch in the U.S. Caribbean EEZ Alternative 1 No Action. No change to current commercial trip limit. No more than 150 queen conch per licensed fisherman per day. Alternative 2 Commercial trip limit compatible with the USVI. No more than 200 queen conch per vessel per day. Alternative 3 No more than 150 queen conch per day if there is one licensed commercial fisherman on board, or no more than 200 queen conch per vessel per day if more than one licensed commercial fisherman is on board.

6. 6 Action 1: Modify the trip limit for the commercial harvest of queen conch in the U.S. Caribbean EEZ To keep in mind!! The ACL for the EEZ management area of St. Croix is 50,000 lb (22,680 kg) of combined St. Croix territorial and federal landings. This action would not have any overall effect on the total amount of harvest that is currently allowed in the EEZ. Modifying the allowed trip limit would only affect the rate at which the ACL/quota is reached.

7. Total # of Trips UncleanedCleaned > 150 queen conch >150 to <200 queen conch > 200 queen conch > 150 queen conch >150 to <200 queen conch > 200 queen conch Only One Fisherman 961 165 (16.9%) 74 (7.6%) 91 (9.3%) 404 (41.3%) 198 (20.2%) 206 (21.1%) Two Fishermen 171 (<1%) 0 (0%)9 (<1%)8 (<1%)1 (<1%) Number of queen conch per trip harvested in the EEZ for the three most recent fishing years separated by trips declared as having one fisherman or having two fishermen on a trip. Only a small number of queen conch trips were declared to have more than one fisherman on a vessel (~2% of trips) in the EEZ. Either 16.9 % of the trips that landed queen conch, if reported uncleaned, or 41.3 %, if reported cleaned, exceeded the current federal limit for an individual licensed fishermen.

8. 8 Action 1 Uncleaned Queen Conch Cleaned Queen Conch Alternative 2<1% Increase1.5% Increase Alternative 3No Change<1% Decrease Alternatives 2 and 3 are predicted to have very little impact on future landings toward the 50,000 lb quota, because most trips do not exceed the newly proposed trip/vessel limits. The small impacts expected from both alternatives are because landings in the EEZ in recent years represent only 28 % of the overall St. Croix landings, and few of those trips included more than one licensed commercial fisher or brought home more than 150 queen conch. Percent change in the rate of approach to the St. Croix 50,000 lb queen conch landings quota expected from Alternative 2 and Alternative 3 of Action 1.

9. 9 Action 2: Modify the bag limit for the recreational harvest of queen conch in the U.S. Caribbean EEZ Alternative 1 No Action 3 queen conch per person per day, no more than 12 queen conch per boat per day Alternative 2 Compatible 6 queen conch per person per day, 24 per boat per day Alternative 3 6 queen conch per person per day, 12 per boat per day Alternative 4 3 queen conch per person per day, 24 per boat per day Partially compatible

10. 10 Action 2: Recreational Bag Limit To keep in mind!! Little if any recreational fishing for queen conch in the EEZ. No monitoring of recreational harvest in territorial or in federal waters. Queen conch is classified as overfished and has an established rebuilding plan. Queen conch recreational harvest season in STX territorial and EEZ waters follows that of the commercial harvest season. When the commercial quota is reached, harvest for both the commercial and recreational sectors is closed. Although only commercial harvest is monitored, the 50,000 lb ACL in the STX EEZ serves as a proxy for the harvest that is occurring in both sectors of the fishery. The ACL is assumed to be sufficient at the moment to prevent overfishing from occurring. Modifying the total recreational bag limit to meet the purpose and need of this action, could potentially change the balance that was used to establish the ACL for the STX management area. The absence of an explicit recreational harvest quota has the potential for recreational harvesters to harvest at a more rapid rate thereby increasing total harvest to an undefined degree.

11. 11 Alternatives Number of Recreational Fishers 12345678> 8 136912 26 1824 3612 4369 15182124 Number of queen conch that can be harvested per fisher under each of the proposed alternatives for Action 2. Shaded cells represent instances where the numbers that could be fished is higher than currently allowed in the EEZ.

12. Action 2: Recreational Bag Limit Alternative 1 No Action No change to current recreational bag limit Not compatible with USVI. Would continue enforcement issues. Supports rebuilding plan because it would constrain the recreational harvest at a lower daily harvest rate. Alternative 2 Compatible Compatible recreational bag limits would aid in enforcement. Would allow for a more rapid rate of daily recreational harvest, with no constraint on total harvest. As a result, to the degree that recreational harvest occurs in EEZ waters, this alternative may allow for an overall increase in the annual take of queen conch from USVI waters. Potentially negative biological effects : for example if doubling the amount of recreational harvest results in overfishing of the queen conch and compromises stock rebuilding efforts. Could potentially affect the overall U.S. Caribbean OFL estimate because of the interconnectedness of the queen conch stock.

13. (Cont.) Action 2: Recreational Bag Limit – Summary of Effects Alternative 3 Would keep the allowed harvest per vessel to an adequate minimum (e.g., a lower minimum), while still being partially compatible with USVI. Alternative 4 Would keep the allowed harvest per person to a minimum, while still being partially compatible with USVI regulations. Requires 8 persons to get max. number of queen conch.

14. 14 ACTION 2: Summary of Effects Alternative 1 constrains daily and total recreational harvest to the greatest degree, and therefore best supports the queen conch rebuilding plan (although the degree to which the rebuilding plan may be affected is unknown). Alternative 2 would allow the largest daily and total increase in recreational harvest by increasing both the individual and vessel limits, potentially hindering the success of the rebuilding plan. However, Alternative 2 is the only one that meets the purpose and need of this regulatory amendment. Alternatives 3 and 4 would both increase the daily recreational harvest rate (individual or vessel limit) and their effects would depend on the actual number of recreational participants on a trip.

15. ADDITIONAL SLIDES...

16. Action 1 – Analyses

17. EFFECTSALTERNATIVE 1 (ACTION 1) Biological / Ecological Direct: No additional protection to queen conch beyond current regulations. No direct biological benefits to queen conch because it would maintain the current rate at which the ACL is reached Indirect: Efficient enforcement = increase in protection = benefit queen conch. EconomicNo change Social Benefit fisherman that fish with another (only a small % of fishermen), they can catch a combined total of more than 150 queen conch. Not compatible. Confusion in regulations, negative impacts to resource (because some may harvest more than allowed). Negative impact to fishermen because the trip limit would not provide the intended protection for the resource.

18. EFFECTSALTERNATIVE 2 (ACTION 1) Biological / Ecological Direct: None. Changes in harvest patterns too small to cause direct effects Indirect: Efficient enforcement = increase in protection = benefit queen conch. Improved management. May affect protected resources (Acropora critical habitat), but change in harvest patterns too small to cause significant indirect effects. Economic Increased avg. daily harvest and revenue per trip, lower operating costs if fishers take fewer trips (Because there are more trips with a single fisher than with multiple fishers). Increase in harvest may result in shorter season, but because approximately 2/3 of the total queen conch harvest in St. Croix comes from territorial waters, an increased harvest rate would not be expected to significantly reduce the length of the open season. No increase in total commercial harvest because of quota (50,000 lb). ~ No long-term economic losses should occur as a result of delayed stock rebuilding. Social Benefit fisherman who fish alone because of larger bag limit. Could negatively impact fishers that fish with another (only a small % of fishermen) Compatible regs. - positive impact, because of easier enforcement. Easier for fishermen to follow. Benefit the resource (protection) = benefit fishermen.

19. EFFECTSALTERNATIVE 3 (ACTION 1) Biological / Ecological Direct: None Indirect: Only partially compatible = may affect enforcement, and thus protection of queen conch. May affect protected resources (Acropora critical habitat), but change in harvest patterns too small to cause significant effects. Economic Better regulatory consistency than taking no action, thus reduced adverse economic effects of a quota closure. Social Benefit fisherman that fish with another (only a small % of fishermen), because they could catch a combined total of more than 150 queen conch. Not compatible. Confusion in regulations, negative impacts to resource (because some may harvest more than allowed). Negative impact to fishermen because the trip limit would not provide the intended protection for the resource.

20. Puerto Rico Recreational Sector  Exceeding state bag limits – 3conchs p/p, max 12 p/boat  Harvesting illegal sizes  Selling conch Other Issues International / Other Issues  ESA Listing Petition – Fishermen need update  CITES – Fishermen want import of conch to be prohibited during seasonal closure  Illegal aliens harvesting conch