| Effective
May 18, 2009, new rules governing bycatch reduction devices
(BRDs) for Gulf of Mexico shrimpers will be enforced. The
intent of these changes is to improve bycatch reduction
in the Gulf shrimp fishery and better meet the requirements
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act. The Act states that a certified BRD must reduce finfish
bycatch 30 percent by weight.
The Fisheye BRD
must be placed along the top center of the cod end of a
shrimp trawl, no further forward than 11 feet from the cod
end tie-off rings. The Gulf Fisheye BRD is the same fisheye-type
device that may be placed 15 meshes on either side of top
center, between 8.5 feet and 12.5 feet from the cod end
tie-off rings, thus expanding the allowable placement of
the device in the cod end.
These two (overlapping)
configurations of the fisheye-type device are also certified
for use in the South Atlantic region. New data collected
aboard Gulf of Mexico shrimp vessels indicated that a fisheye-type
device placed more than 9 feet forward in the cod end of
the net does not exclude 30 percent of the finfish by weight.
Therefore, the final rule will decertify the Gulf Fisheye
BRD as it is designated in the regulations, and will restrict
the allowable placement of the Fisheye BRD to no farther
forward than 9 feet from the tie-off rings.
The
study also found the effectiveness of the Expanded Mesh
BRD has decreased. Recent tests of the Expanded Mesh BRD
in the Gulf of Mexico indicate it is only achieving about
a 17 percent reduction in the weight of total finfish bycatch.
The final rule also decertifies the Expanded Mesh BRD in
the Gulf of Mexico. Illustrations of the various BRD designs
and installation instructions for some of the BRDs can be
found at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sf/BRDs.htm.
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