Law Suit Would Halt New Red Snapper Quotas; La. Charter Captains Would Likely Suffer
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [The Times-Picayune] By Todd Masson - April 27, 2015
The Coastal Conservation Association filed suit Wednesday to block a Department of Commerce plan to grant special red-snapper-fishing privileges to the Gulf of Mexico charter-fishing fleet.
Under the plan, called Amendment 40, federal fisheries managers would pull the charter take of red snapper from the recreational quota and award it to individual captains. The measure was endorsed by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council in a 10-7 vote in October, and signed by Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker on April 10.
Amendment 40 has been stridently opposed by recreational-fishing interests since it was proposed because it would mean a smaller quota for the industry. Traditionally, the entire recreational fleet, charter captains and private anglers...
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