Amendment 12: Add Bullet Mackerel and Frigate Mackerel as Ecosystem Component Species

Dolphin Wahoo Amendment 12 and its rulemaking would add bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel to the FMP for the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery of the Atlantic (Dolphin Wahoo FMP) and designate them as ecosystem component (EC) species.  The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) noted that the two mackerel species have been documented as important forage species particularly for wahoo and to a lesser extent for dolphin.  The purpose of Dolphin Wahoo Amendment 12 is to acknowledge the ecological role of bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel as forage fish and achieve ecosystem management objectives (50 C.F.R §600.305(d)(13)).  NMFS and the Council determined that bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel are currently not in need of conservation and management, making them eligible for consideration as EC species under provisions found within the National Standard Guidelines (50 C.F.R §600.305(c)(1)), and complying with the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and other applicable laws