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Regular Session, 2012
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 10
BY REPRESENTATIVES REYNOLDS, GREENE, HILL, RICHARD, AND WHITNEY
AND SENATOR GARY SMI TH
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To memorialize the United States Congress to take such actions as are necessary to
encourage the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Gulf of Mexico Marine
Fisheries Council, and the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council to adopt
a weekend-only fishery management regime for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico
for 2012.
WHEREAS, it is the responsibility of the National Marine Fisheries Service, an
agency in the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, through the Gulf
of Mexico Marine Fisheries Council and the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council,
to manage and regulate marine species located in the Gulf of Mexico; and
WHEREAS, this management and regulation includes a determination of the
sustainability of each species and preservation of the sustainability through the setting of
take limits, individual fishing quotas, and opening and closing seasons; and
WHEREAS, red snapper is a highly sought-after fish and, through the years has been
one of the most popular fish for restaurants but is currently one of the most highly regulated
fisheries due to the fact that in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the population spawnings
were not as strong as had been expected; and
WHEREAS, in an effort to protect the fishery, regulations were instituted that limited
the number of fish that could be taken and set the minimum and maximum sizes; and
WHEREAS, although these regulations have resulted in an increase in the number
of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico and in an overall increased health of the red snapper
populations, because of the past experience with unexpected spawning difficulties, NOAA
Fisheries continues to maintain tight rein on the red snapper fishery and continues to ENROLLEDHCR NO. 10
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implement stringent regulations on the taking of red snapper in the Gulf with those
regulations for 2012 involving an open season of only forty days; and
WHEREAS, a forty-day season for red snapper will be devastating particularly to the
charter fishing industry whose clientele are eager for the experience of fishing for and
landing Louisiana's famed and highly sought after red snapper; and
WHEREAS, the charter industry in the state of Louisiana is an industry, like so many
others across coastal Louisiana, that has been hard hit in recent years by hurricanes, record-
setting riverine flooding, and the BP oil disaster in the Gulf; and
WHEREAS, one of the options discussed while determining the 2012 management
regime was a weekend-only fishery which would elongate the period of time within which
red snapper could be caught to nearly the entire summer, thus enabling the charter fishing
industry, largely a weekend-only industry, more opportunities to ply their trade, book their
charters, and increase the income to an already hard-hit industry.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
memorialize the United States Congress to take such actions as are necessary to encourage
the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Gulf of Mexico Marine Fisheries Council, and
the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council to adopt a weekend-only fishery
management scheme for red snapper for 2012.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Congress of the
United States of America and to each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation and
the heads of the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Gulf of Mexico Marine Fisheries
Council, and the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE