Reminders Regarding the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Programs in the Gulf of Mexico

KEY MESSAGE:

• NOAA Fisheries is sending these reminders to ensure IFQ participants are informed of the details for the IFQ program.  We are also providing additional information on the IFQ system functions and requirements to ensure participants clearly understand how to participate in the program.
• For further information, IFQ participants can contact Catch Share Support at (866) 425-7627 (option 2) between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., EST, Monday through Friday excluding federal holidays.

RECENT ACTIONS TO NOTE:

• Revisions to Red Snapper Management
  1. On March 5, 2019, NOAA Fisheries published a final rule to increase the commercial and recreational annual catch limits and recreational annual catch targets for Gulf of Mexico red snapper
     • The final rule was effective on April 4, 2019.
  2. On April 4, 2019, NOAA Fisheries distributed the red snapper IFQ allocation associated with the increased quota to shareholders who held red snapper shares at the time of distribution.

“CATCH UP ON CATCH SHARES” NEWSLETTER:

• This newsletter is distributed on a quarterly basis and highlights system functions, upcoming actions related to the program, and preliminary price or landings data.  It also provides a community perspective or industry in-depth section as well as a resources section with important dates and relevant websites. 
• If you have any topics you would like to see covered in the newsletter, please contact Catch Share Support at 866-425-7627 (option 2) or nmfs.ser.catchshare@noaa.gov (copy and paste address).
• You can sign up here to receive the newsletter directly to your email.

PRE-LANDING NOTIFICATIONS:

• When using the 24/7 call service to report your pre-landing notification, please provide your vessel’s Coast Guard documentation or state registration number.  This will ensure the pre-landing notification is given for the correct vessel instead of another vessel with a similar name.
• If you make a pre-landing notification and any details change, including estimated pounds onboard, you must make a new, revised pre-landing notification.
  1. If the landing location changes or an earlier time than previously submitted is needed, then the new notification will need to be submitted at least 3 hours prior to landing.
  2. If the change is to the dealer, the weights, or an arrival time that is later than previously submitted, the new notification does not require the vessel to wait an additional 3 hours.
     • For vessels that make a pre-landing notification before a day trip, you must update the estimated pounds onboard before you land.
  3. Only one “change” to a landing notification can be made before the vessel is required to wait an additional 3 hours.
• For more information about IFQ pre-landing notifications, including example scenarios, refer to Frequently Asked Questions on the catch share online system.
• In June 2018, NOAA Fisheries implemented new requirements to improve compliance and increase management flexibility in the Gulf of Mexico IFQ programs. 
  1. One change requires all owners or operators of a commercial reef fish permitted vessel to land reef fish (including reef fish that are not part of the IFQ program) at locations pre-approved by NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement, beginning January 1, 2019. 
  2. A list of currently approved landing locations and a map can be found on the catch share online system (select view landings locations).
  3. For more information about non-IFQ pre-landing notifications, including example scenarios, refer to the Frequently Asked Questions.

DEALER LANDING TRANSACTIONS WITH NO LANDING NOTIFICATIONS:

• When dealers complete a landing transaction, step 4 on the landing transaction page specifies to select a notification confirmation to link the vessel’s pre-landing notification with the landing transaction. 
• However, for a variety of reasons, sometimes there are no notifications to select.  In this case, the dealer must select “No Notification Meets Criteria” to complete the landing transaction.

ACCEPT SHARE TRANSFERS:

• Please remember that a share transfer is a two-step process requiring the transferor to initiate the transaction and the transferee to complete the transaction. 
• The transferee completes the transaction by accepting the share transfer under the Receive Transferred Shares view. 
• A share transfer transaction that has not been accepted by the transferee (e.g., pending status) after 30 days from the date the transfer was initiated will be cancelled.  If the share transfer is still desired, the transferor will have to restart the share transfer process. 
• Transfer of shares and associated allocation are independent.  If a package deal includes both shares and allocation, the transferor must make a separate allocation transfer for any allocation.  Allocation associated with the shares is only distributed by the system at the beginning of the fishing year or in the case of a mid-year quota increase.

VMS CODES FOR PRE-LANDING NOTIFICATIONS:

• Changes to the VMS units now allow new approved landing locations and dealers to be available shortly after approval for use by IFQ participants.  The drop-down menus were replaced with numeric fields corresponding to the IFQ landing location and dealer VMS codes.  
• Previously, some VMS IFQ pre-landing notification forms used a drop-down menu with a list of approved landing locations and dealers.  These lists were manually updated via a software update.  This caused significant delays in new approved landing locations and dealers being available for use on the various types of VMS units. 
• Lists of VMS codes for landing locations and dealers can be found on the Catch Share Online System (https://secatchshares.fisheries.noaa.gov/).
• You can use the worksheet below to keep a record of your most commonly used VMS codes.

NOAA FISHERIES SOUTHEAST WEBSITE HAS MOVED:

• Starting July 1, 2019 our current NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional website will have a new home as part of the new national NOAA Fisheries site.  
• Please update your bookmarks, or look for southeast specific content by selecting our region in the drop down tab at the top of the new homepage.
• This move combines more than 20 individual NOAA Fisheries websites into one national site. Our hope is that a more uniform website will help users access the information they are looking for quickly and easily. 
• The Catch Share Online System will NOT be changing.  It will remain at https://secatchshares.fisheries.noaa.gov/.

NOAA FISHERIES SOUTHEAST WEBSITE HAS MOVED:

• Starting July 1, 2019 our current NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional website will have a new home as part of the new national NOAA Fisheries site.  
• Please update your bookmarks, or look for southeast specific content by selecting our region in the drop down tab at the top of the new homepage.
• This move combines more than 20 individual NOAA Fisheries websites into one national site. Our hope is that a more uniform website will help users access the information they are looking for quickly and easily. 
• The Catch Share Online System will NOT be changing.  It will remain at https://secatchshares.fisheries.noaa.gov/.

VMS CODES

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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
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Other contacts:

Media: Kim Amendola, 727-551-5707

Allison Garrett, 727-551-5750