U.S. Mid-Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico Oyster Dredge 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.

New England/Mid-Atlantic

Southeast

Current Classification on the List of Fisheries

Category	III
Estimated Number of Participants	7,000
Target Species	Eastern oyster
Applicable Take Reduction Plans	None
Observer Coverage	N/A
Marine Mammal Species/Stocks Killed or Injured	None Documented

^ 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 (SAR).

¹ Indicates the stock or species is driving the classification of the fishery.

Basis for Current Classification

There are no documented marine mammal interactions.

Distribution

Fall to spring

Gear Description

Steel frame with twine or steel bag attached used to harvest oysters.

Management

Throughout its range, the eastern oyster is not a federally managed fishery. The fishery requires permits, often involving the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the lead review agency, with various other federal agencies (typically NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) providing resource protection recommendations. This fishery is also managed by the Gulf of Mexico Oyster Fishery FMP.

Historical Information

Original Category (Year added to the LOF)	III (1989)
Original Number of Participants	7,000
Basis for Original Classification	There are no documented marine mammal interactions.
Past Names	"Mid-Atlantic oyster" (until 1994)
Species/stocks historically documented as killed or injured (but not currently on the list)	N/A

Timeline of Changes

1994	Renamed from "Mid-Atlantic oyster" to “U.S. Mid-Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico Oyster Dredge” to include the Gulf of Mexico oyster fishery.

Last updated by Office of Protected Resources on 02/15/2019

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