Caribbean Haul/Beach Seine Fishery - MMPA List of Fisheries
U.S. fisheries are classified under the Marine Mammal Protection Act according to the level of interactions that result in incidental mortality or serious injury of marine mammals.
Current Classification on the List of Fisheries
| Category | III |
| Estimated Number of Participants | 38 |
| Target Species | Baitfish including ballyhoo, gar, flying fish; jacks, yellowtail snapper and other consumable fish |
| Applicable Take Reduction Plans | None |
| Observer Coverage | None |
| Marine Mammal Species/Stocks Killed or Injured | West Indian manatee, Puerto Rico |
^ Number of participants estimates are based on state and federal fisheries permit data. The estimated number of participants is expressed in terms of the number of active participants in the fishery, when possible. If this information is not available, the estimated number of vessels or persons licensed for a particular fishery is provided. If no recent information is available on the number of participants, then the number from the most recent LOF is used. NOAA Fisheries acknowledges that, in some cases, these estimations may be inflating actual effort.
*Observer coverage levels include the latest information reported in the most current final Stock Assessment Report.
Basis for Current Classification
Since there is no systematic observer program, it is not possible to estimate the total number of marine mammal interactions or mortalities associated with haul/beach seine fisheries; however, there are some data on interactions with bottlenose dolphins and manatees available from strandings networks and anecdotal reports.
There have been no recent known incidental mortalities or serious injuries of bottlenose dolphins in this fishery in Puerto Rico or the United States Virgin Islands (USVI). The last known bottlenose dolphin interactions (one entanglement resulting in a mortality and one reported entanglement) were both in 2009 in Puerto Rico.
The West Indian manatee (Antillean subspecies) was removed from this fishery in the 2011 LOF based on information provided in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2009 stock assessment report showing lack of evidence for fishery interactions. Since then, one known interaction has occurred in Puerto Rico (February 2018) in which a manatee was dragged to shore in beach seine gear and then released alive.
Distribution
This fishery is active in the U.S. Caribbean in both the jurisdictional waters of Puerto Rico and the territorial waters of the USVI. However, haul/beach seines are not used in the federal waters of the U.S. Caribbean economic exclusive zone3. In the USVI, haul/beach seines are prohibited in the inner lagoon of Cas Cay/Mangrove Lagoon Reserve, and in Altona Lagoon, Great Pond Bay, and their respective connecting channels to the sea5. In Puerto Rico, beach seines are prohibited within 300 meters in any direction of the mouth of a river7.
Gear Description
Haul/beach seine nets are an encircling type of net made of mesh webbing and have two wings and a bag (also called crop)4. The top line has floats to keep it at surface, while the bottom, also called foot line, is weighted4. The bag is flanked by wings, to which auxiliary lines are attached. The net is generally set from row boat and hauled to the shore line, or to beach, by additional fishermen.
In the USVI, haul/beach seines must have a mesh size greater than 1.5 inches to avoid capture of juvenile fish unless fishing for bait fish5. In Puerto Rico, haul/beach seines (chinchorro or chinchorro de arrastre) have minimum mesh size requirements that differ for different parts of the net (smallest mesh allowed at the crop as determined by net type and area fished, and increasing incrementally along the pieces of the wings)7. The crop shall not have less than twenty (20) meshes at the end7. The crop of the net must have a minimum mesh size (as measured from knot to knot) of at least 2 inches for haul seines, at least 2 inches for beach seines used in sandy or muddy bottom areas, and at least 2.5 inches if the areas fished have seagrass beds7. The end of the wings must have a mesh size of at least 4 inches. The length of the seines may not exceed 320 meters in length7.
Management
In Federal waters, this fishery is managed by the Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC). The Council manages the area from 3 to 200 nautical miles (nm) off the coasts of the USVI (St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John), and 9 to 200 nm off the coast of Puerto Rico. The CFMC is currently drafting island-based Fishery Management Plans (FMPs), a change of course from its current species-based FMPs. Island-based FMPs will allow the Council to focus regulations around island specific roles that fisheries play.
The territorial waters of the USVI, from 0 to 3 nautical miles offshore, are managed by the USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR). In the USVI, beach/haul seines require a commercial fishing permit and are not allowed in areas where commercial fishing is prohibited1,2,5. Additionally, because they are considered commercial, they may not be used by recreational fishermen1,2,5.
The jurisdictional waters of Puerto Rico from 0-9 nautical miles offshore, are managed by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA). Puerto Rico DRNA Regulation 7949 permits haul/beach seine gear in Puerto Rico, except in inner water and rivers mouths7. It also specifies that when a marine mammal is trapped, the seine set must be aborted before reaching the shore7.
Historical Information
| Original Category (Year added to the LOF) | III (1996) |
| Original Number of Participants | 15 |
| Basis for Original Classification | Listed as a Category III because no details were provided, and there was no observer or logbook, with limited stranding data available. |
| Past Names | Caribbean Beach Seine |
| Species/stocks historically documented as killed or injured (but not currently on the list) | N/A |
Timeline of Changes
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| 2011 |
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1Caribbean Fishery Management Council and National Marine Fisheries Service. 2019. Comprehensive Fishery Management Plan for the St. Thomas/St. John Exclusive Economic Zone, CFMC 165th Meeting – Briefing Book Version. 478 pp. https://www.caribbeanfmc.com/Briefing_Books/165th_Meeting/EA_FMP_DRAFT_STTSTJ_Briefing_Book_Version.pdf
2Caribbean Fishery Management Council and National Marine Fisheries Service. 2019. Comprehensive Fishery Management Plan for the St. Croix Exclusive Economic Zone, CFMC 165th Meeting – Briefing Book Version. 488 pp. https://www.caribbeanfmc.com/Briefing_Books/165th_Meeting/EA_FMP_DRAFT_STX_Briefing_Book_Version.pdf
3Caribbean Fishery Management Council and National Marine Fisheries Service. 2019. Comprehensive Fishery Management Plan for the Puerto Rico Exclusive Economic Zone, CFMC 165th Meeting – Briefing Book Version. 608 pp. https://www.caribbeanfmc.com/Briefing_Books/165th_Meeting/EA_FMP_DRAFT_Puerto_Rico_Version_1_BB_4.17.2019_FINAL_1.pdf
4Lopez, Maria, 13 April 2020, personal communication.
5Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife. 2018. Commercial & Recreational Fishers’ Information Handbook, Summary
6Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. 2004. Supplementary Flier Puerto Rico Fishing Regulation 6768. https://www.caribbeanfmc.com/meetings/CFMC%20MEETINGS/127%20regular%20meeting-MARCH%2026-27-2008/127%20presentaciones/PR%20Fishing%20Regs%20-%20good%20one.pdf
7Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. 2010. Puerto Rico Fishing Regulation 7949.
https://docslib.org/doc/5178521/fishery-regulations-and-permits-puerto-rico-fishery-regulation-no
8U.S. Virgin Islands, Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife. 2005. U.S. Virgin Islands Marine Resources and Fisheries Strategic and Comprehensive Conservation Plan. https://ufdc.ufl.edu/CA01300948/00001/pd