The effects of the new rule, Amendment 9 to the Shrimp Fishery Management Plan, will be felt beyond the pockets of the fishermen involved. The Parks and Wildlife Department did not have numbers on the value of red snapper as a recreational fish, but it is known to be popular among sport anglers. Michael Justen, fishery administrator in the St. Petersburg, Fla., office of NMFS, said that under the law, the agency can't delay Amendment 9. Amendment 9 mandates the use of BRDs, with the intent of helping restore the red snapper population. The amendment calls for the devices to reduce the amount of bycatch of juvenile red snapper in shrimp trawls by 44 percent.
Effort is defined as the number of hours fished.
Bycatch is the term given to the aquatic life caught when fishing for another species. But the devices also increase the amount of shrimp that can escape capture. The fisheries service estimates shrimp losses due to BRDs at between 3 to 13 percent. The agency estimates 34 million juvenile red snapper are caught in shrimpers' nets each year. Amendment 9 also establishes a rulemaking procedure for modifying the bycatch reduction criterion, establishing and modifying the BRD testing protocol, and certifying BRDs and their specifications.