Key Message:
- NOAA Fisheries is sending this reminder to ensure Individual Fishing Quota program (IFQ) participants are informed about new or important requirements, such as IFQ system functions and how to participate in the program.
- For further information, IFQ participants can contact Catch Share Support at (866) 425-7627 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday excluding federal holidays.
Southeast Fisheries Online Permit System
- Online submission is available for renewing vessel, dealer, and/or operator permits, requesting dealer, operator, and/or open access permits, and transferring limited access permits.
- You may create an online account prior to your permit expiration or wait until you are notified by NOAA Fisheries’ Permit Office that your permit is eligible for renewal. If you are registering for the first time be sure to have a copy of your vessel registration card available.
- Renewal applications are automatically generated 60 days prior to the permit’s expiration date. For permit renewals, the auto-generated renewal reminder emails will come from "NOAA Fisheries - Southeast Region Permit Office" with a subject line that reads "NMFS SERO Permit Renewal Reminder.” Once you see your renewal applications, you must click START APPLICATION to begin the renewal process.
- For assistance creating and/or logging into an online permits system account, review the frequently asked questions or contact the permits office.
Approved Landing Locations:
- Vessels landing IFQ species must only land at approved IFQ landing locations. Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) federal for-hire landing locations are not approved for commercial vessels.
- Landing locations should have a street address. If there is no street address on record, global positioning system (GPS) coordinates for an identifiable geographic location must be provided.
- Landing locations must be approved in advance to ensure the sites are accessible to law enforcement agents.
- IFQ Landing locations must be publicly accessible by land and water, and must satisfy the following criteria:
- Vehicles must have access to the site via public roads.
- Vessels must have access to the site via navigable waters.
- No other conditions may impede free and immediate access to the site by an authorized law enforcement officer. Examples of such conditions include, but are not limited to: a locked gate, fence, wall, or other barrier preventing 24-hour access to the site; a gated community entry point; a guard animal; a posted sign restricting access to the site; or any other physical deterrent.
- Failure to adhere to the above-specified requirements will result in landing locations being disapproved.
Share Category Flexibility Measures:
- The grouper-tilefish program has several built-in flexibility measures to accommodate the multi-species nature of the fishery.
- Deep-water grouper with flexibility measures includes warsaw grouper and speckled hind. Once all deep-water allocation is exhausted within a shareholder’s accounts, these species may be landed under available shallow-water grouper allocation
- Scamp is the only shallow-water grouper with a flexibility measure and can be landed under deep-water grouper allocation once all shallow-water grouper allocation has been exhausted in a shareholder’s accounts.
- Each year, a portion of gag and red grouper allocation may be converted to gag or red grouper multi-use allocation. These percentages are based on a formula utilizing the commercial quotas and annual catch limits for both species. If a stock is under a rebuilding plan, the percentage of multi-use allocation in the other species will be zero. Multi-use may not be transferred until all the primary allocation has been exhausted in shareholder’s accounts.
- The system automatically determines the order of the allocation deduction from each eligible share category. The allocation will always be first deducted from the primary category, followed by the secondary and tertiary (if applicable) categories. For all landing transactions, the primary category is first used for species belonging to that category, including those that do not have flexibility measures.
- Example: Gag is deducted in the following order: gag, gag multi-use, and finally red grouper multi-use.
- Example: Scamp is deducted from shallow-water grouper before deep-water grouper.
- Additional information can be found on flexibility and multi-use allocation on the website under the Additional Information document IFQ Flexibility Measures.
Landing Overage Provisions:
- IFQ shareholders can land 10% over their remaining allocation on the ‘last’ fishing trip of the year for categories in which they hold shares. The 10% overage may not exceed the equivalent amount of allocation from shares held in the account.
- When submitting the landing, a confirmation box will appear notifying the user that a 10% overage will be used. The user must input their vessel signature PIN a second time to confirm they wish to use the 10% overage. If the user does not want to use the 10% overage, they will be able to cancel the landing transaction.
- The system automatically processes the 10% overage provisions when an eligible vessel submits a landing transaction for more allocation than is available in the shareholder or associated vessel accounts. This ‘last’ trip may occur early in the year for accounts that have minimal allocation. Please check your allocation balance before processing a landing transaction to ensure appropriate use of the 10% overage provision.
- All overages will be subtracted from the shareholder's allocation at the start of the next fishing year, before the shareholder has access to their allocation. To ensure sufficient allocation is available in the next year, accounts with a 10% overage will not be allowed to transfer shares that will reduce the shares beneath the amount needed to pay back the overage.
- Example: If a shareholder lands 110 pounds of red snapper, but only has 100 pounds of red snapper allocation, they system will automatically apply the 10% overage if they shareholder has red snapper shares. The additional 10 pounds (110 landed – 100 available) will be subtracted from the shareholder’s allocation on January 1, the following year. Share transfers will be disallowed if the transfer reduces the shares beneath the expected 10 pounds required for payback of the overage.
Landing Transactions
- Actual ex-vessel value is the total gutted weight in pounds multiplied by the price paid per pound of fish before any deductions are made for transferred (leased) allocation and goods and services (e.g., bait, ice, fuel, repairs, machinery replacement, etc.).
- Ice and water weight may not be deducted from the landings transaction unless the actual ice and water weight are determined using a scale.
- This allows NOAA Fisheries to more accurately analyze the total value of the Gulf red snapper and grouper-tilefish components of the reef fish fishery.
Sign Up For the Catch Up on Catch Shares Newsletter
To receive the latest IFQ information on landings and prices, regulatory news, online system updates and functions, upcoming meetings, and stories from the Gulf fishing community, subscribe to the Catch Up on Catch Shares newsletter. The newsletter is distributed by email quarterly.
Sign Up For Text Message Alerts - Find Out About Immediate Openings and Closures
NOAA's Text Message Alert Program allows you to receive important fishery related alerts via text message (SMS). Standard message & data rates may apply. You may opt-out at any time.
Text alerts you may receive include:
- Immediate fishery openings and closures.
- Any significant changes to fishing regulations that happen quickly.
Sign up for one or more of the following groups:
- Gulf of Mexico Recreational Fisheries Related Alerts
- Text GULFRECFISH to 888777
- Gulf of Mexico Commercial Fisheries Related Alerts
- Text GULFCOMMFISH to 888777
- South Atlantic Recreational Fisheries Related Alerts
- Text SATLRECFISH to 888777
- South Atlantic Commercial Fisheries Related Alerts
- Text SATLCOMMFISH to 888777
- Caribbean Fisheries Related Alerts
- Text CARIBFISH to 888777
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Other contacts:
Media: Allison Garrett, 727-551-5750
