Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico.

This Fishery Management Plan (FMP) concerns management of the shrimp fishery (six managed species are specified) in the U.S. fishery conservation zone under the Jurisdiction of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. The U.S. Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, under provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976, is responsible for management of species within the geographical area of authority: approximately 264 thousand square miles in total with a continental shelf that ranges in width from about 12 miles off the Mississippi River to almost 200 miles off west Florida. To manage a given species (or groups of species), the Council must first develop a Federal Management Plan (FMP) and submit it to the Secretary of Commerce for approval. Major concern for future shrimp stocks is related to concern for adequate habitat, particularly for the estuarine-dependent brown, white, and pink shrimp, which account for most of the annual shrimp harvest. The goal identified in the Plan is to manage the shrimp fishery of the United States waters of the Gulf of Mexico in order to attain the greatest overall benefit to the nation with particular reference to food production and recreational opportunities on the basis of the maximum sustainable yield as modified by relevant economic, social or ecological factors. Its objectives are to: 1) optimize the yield from shrimp recruited to the fishery; 2) encourage habitat protection measures to prevent undue loss of shrimp habitat; 3) coordinate the development of shrimp management measures by the Council with shrimp management programs of the several states, where feasible; 4) promote consistency with the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act; 5) minimize the incidental capture of finfish by shrimpers, when appropriate; 6) minimize conflicts between shrimp and stone crab fishermen; 7) minimize adverse effects of underwater obstructions to shrimp trawling; 8) provide for a statistical reporting system. The effects of shrimp fishing on sea turtles (all are protected under the Endangered Species Act) and incidentally caught finfish are considered in the Plan.
The Plan, among other things: specifies a total allowable level of foreign fishing (TALFF); establishes cooperative closures (also for the Tortugas Shrimp Sanctuary); introduces measures for the prevention of incidental bycatch; provides with respect to habitat protection; provides with respect to the determination of Optimum Yield for shrimp fishery.