Modifications to Greater Amberjack Allowable Harvest and Management Measures

The purpose of this amendment is to modify the ACL and the annual catch target (ACT), incorporate updated stock status information from the 2014 stock assessment, modify management measures for the recreational size limit and seasons, and commercial trip limit in order to end the overfishing and rebuild the greater amberjack stock in the Gulf of Mexico. The 2014 stock assessment revealed that greater amberjack are overfished and undergoing overfishing.

The need for this amendment is that the current acceptable biological catch (ABC) of 1,780,000 pounds established in Amendment 35 to the Reef Fish FMP exceeds the 1,720,000 pound ABC recommendation for 2015 (GMFMC 2012). In addition section 600.310(g)(3) of the National Standard 1 ACL and accountability measure (AM) guidelines states that the system of ACLs and AMs should be re-evaluated, and modified if necessary, if catch exceeds the ACL for a given stock or stock complex more than once in the last four years.