Annual Catch Limit Monitoring under the Puerto Rico Fishery Management Plan

This page was updated August 28, 2023

Landings Data

Under the Puerto Rico Fishery Management Plan, species are managed individually (stock), in a group with similar species (stock complex), or as a representative species in a group of similar species (indicator stock). Annual catch limits for Council-managed finfish in federal waters are set by sector (commercial and recreational). Because recreational landings data are not collected for invertebrate species, the annual catch limit for spiny lobster applies to all harvest for the stock in federal waters, whether commercial or recreational.  As described in the Puerto Rico Fishery Management Plan, NOAA Fisheries will compare specific years of landings data to the annual catch limits and annual catch targets to monitor compliance. The years of landings are described below.

• In the first year of implementation (2023), NOAA Fisheries will use the most recent single year of landings;

• In the second year of implementation (2024), NOAA Fisheries will use the next single year of landings;

• In the third year of implementation (2025), NOAA Fisheries will use the average of the most recent 2 years of landings;

• Thereafter, NOAA Fisheries will use the average of the most recent 3 years of landings.

• If landings for one sector are not available for comparison to the sector-specific annual catch limit, then the annual catch limit for the sector with available data would be the applicable annual catch limit for the stock or stock complex.

Under Framework Amendment 1, the accountability measure process was updated and will compare the average of the most recent 3-year of landings for spiny lobster to the average annual catch limits in place during those 3 years.

Indicator Stocks

• For stock complexes with an indicator stock selected, landings of the indicator stock will be compared to the annual catch limit and any required accountability measure would be applied to all stocks within the stock complex.

• For stock complexes without an indicator stock selected, the combined landings of all the stocks in the complex will be compared to the annual catch limit and any required accountability measure would be applied to all stocks within the stock complex.

Prohibited Stocks

• Stocks for which harvest is prohibited in federal waters off Puerto Rico include queen conch, Nassau grouper, goliath grouper, giant manta ray, spotted eagle ray, and southern stingray.

• Stock complexes for which harvest is prohibited in federal waters off Puerto Rico include Parrotfish 1 (blue parrotfish, midnight parrotfish, and rainbow parrotfish), Sea Cucumbers, Sea Urchins, and Corals.

Preliminary Landings and Annual Catch Limits for Stocks and Stock Complexes Managed in the Puerto Rico Fishery Management Plan