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Interjurisdictional Fisheries Program |
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The Interjurisdictional Fisheries (IJF) Management Program is one of the oldest cooperative state/federal management efforts having evolved from the Commercial Fisheries Research and Development Act of 1965 (P.L. 88-309). It is also the only such program in which the states determine management priorities through planning and research efforts for inshore and nearshore species, such as spotted seatrout, striped mullet, blue crabs, and oysters. In the Gulf of Mexico, these nearshore species comprise the majority of the commercial and recreational harvest, resulting in significant social and economic benefits to the Gulf States and the nation. The change in Acts was instituted, because Congress wanted states to focus attention on cooperative management of commercially and recreationally important fish and shellfish that range across state and federal boundaries. Since 2000, only 12% of the total landings in the Gulf have come from federal waters. Regulatory actions in federal waters over the last decade have put increasing pressure on the nearshore fisheries for all species requiring greater management sophistication by the state marine agencies. The Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act (IFA) of 1986, as amended (Title III, P.L. 99-659), was established by Congress to:
IJF is the cornerstone of the fishery management programs for the states and has provided the support for long-term databases for shrimp and juvenile finfish in the Gulf of Mexico, which would otherwise not be available. In recent years, it has provided for regional planning efforts, by states, to manage nearshore resources in a manner consistent with the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MFCMA) of 1976 and its subsequent reauthorizations in 1996 and 2006. In essence, the IFA is to the states what the Magnuson Act is to the nation, and the benefits of sound management under these Acts do not accrue separately. Funding under the Act supports states' monitoring and assessment programs and other research efforts to gauge the health of various commercially and recreationally important fish stocks. It also provides funding for the three marine interstate commissions to develop and revise interjurisdictional FMPs that are used by the states to enact appropriate management strategies with conservation standards that will maintain fishable stocks throughout the Gulf of Mexico. The development of FMPs is the core of the Commission’s IJF program although there are numerous other programmatic activities which all support the development of FMPs. These activities include support of the Anadromous Fish Subcommittee, the development and continuation of derelict trap programs, standardization of age-and-growth methodologies, and the collection and housing of supporting literature used by the IJF and other Commission programs. The structure of the FMP is determined by a cooperative agreement between the National Marine Fisheries Service and the GSMFC. This agreement specifies the tasks that the Commission will perform in the organization and formulation of FMPs and include:
The FMPs developed by the GSMFC serve as an educational device, supplying background information needed to better understand the resource. The FMPs include a synopsis of important life history information, as well as information on sociology, economics, and other aspects of the fishery. Table 1 provides the list of completed FMPs, Revisions, and Profiles completed to date. In addition, there are several species identified for future Profile/FMP development (Table 2). The GSMFC established a process whereby each FMP is to be developed by a technical task force (TTF) of experts appointed from each of the states' marine regulatory agencies. The process also provided for each of the GSMFC's various subcommittees (the Law Enforcement Committee, the Habitat Subcommittee, and the Commercial-Recreational Fisheries Advisory Panel) to be represented on the TTFs with membership being appointed by the respective committees. The GSMFC further provides for representation from federal agencies, academic institutions, and other organizations where such expertise is needed. Public comment is included on each FMP in the Commission’s review process, as illustrated in Figure 1. Once approved by the GSMFC, FMPs are transmitted to the respective states for their consideration of adoption and implementation. An ongoing review process annually documents progress toward full FMP implementation and triggers the need for FMP review and amendment. All of the FMPs, revisions, and Profiles are available as Adobe PDF files at Publications. If you need additional information concerning this program, please contact the GSMFC IJF Program Coordinator, Steve VanderKooy, at (228) 875-5912 or via e-mail. |
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If you have any comments or problems concerning this page, please contact the . Last modified: July 16, 2008 |
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