Questionnaire Report for Speckled hind

(MERA version 4.1.6)

Brett van Poorten ()

2019-07-10


1 About this document

This is a prototype of an automatic report that documents how the user specified the operating model and their various justifications.


2 Introduction

  1. Describe the history and current status of the fishery, including fleets, sectors, vessel types and practices/gear by vessel type, landing ports, economics/markets, whether targeted/bycatch, other stocks caught in the fishery. “The Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan was implemented in November 1984. The regulations, designed to rebuild declining reef fish stocks, included: (1) prohibitions on the use of fish traps, roller trawls, and powerhead-equipped spear guns within an inshore stressed area; and, (2) data reporting requirements.” (SEDAR 49) The fishery includes catch from the vertical line, long line, trap, headboat and recreational fisheries. Speckled Hind are captured in a general reef fishery; their bycatch in the shrimp fishery is negligible.

  2. Describe the stock’s ecosystem functions, dependencies, and habitat types. “Speckled hind inhabit warm, moderately deep waters from North Carolina to Cuba, including Bermuda, the Bahamas and the Gulf of Mexico. Preferred habitats include high- and low-profile hard bottoms in depths of 25 to 183 meters, with temperatures of 60° to 85°F. They are most common between 60 and 120 meters. Off the Carolinas, the speckled hind is usually found inshore of deep-water reef fish (tilefish, snowy, warsaw and yellowedge groupers). Like other reef fish studied in the South Atlantic Bight, speckled hind seem to display a fish size-water depth relationship, smaller fish occur inshore, where larger fish are found in deeper waters. The world record is a 64-pound speckled hind, caught off North Carolina. They are protogynous hermaphrodites, with females reaching sexual maturity at 4 or 5 years of age (about 19-21 inches long). Spawning takes place offshore in July through September. Speckled hind generally engulf their prey whole. Their life span is approximately 25 years.” (http://safmc.net/regulations/regulations-by-species/speckled-hind/)

  3. Provide all relevant reference materials, such as assessments, research, and other analysis. SEDAR 49


3 Fishery Characteristics

3.1 Longevity

Answered
Very short-lived (5 < maximum age < 7)
Short-lived (7 < maximum age < 10)
Moderate life span (10 < maximum age < 20)
Moderately long-lived (20 < maximum age < 40)
Long-lived (40 < maximum age < 80)
Very long-lived (80 < maximum age < 160)
Justification
Maximum observed age reported in Ziskin et al. (2011) is 35 y.

3.2 Stock depletion

Answered
Crashed (D < 0.05)
Very depleted (0.05 < D < 0.1)
Depleted (0.1 < D < 0.15)
Moderately depleted (0.15 < D < 0.3)
Healthy (0.3 < D < 0.5)
Underexploited (0.5 < D)
Justification
No information on stock depletion is available.

3.3 Resilence

Answered
Not resilient (steepness < 0.3)
Low resilience (0.3 < steepness < 0.5)
Moderate resilence (0.5 < steepness < 0.7)
Resilient (0.7 < steepness < 0.9)
Very Resilient (0.9 < steepness)
Justification
Meta analysis by Shertzer and Conn (2012) suggests a steepness of 0.84.

3.4 Historical effort pattern

Answered
Stable
Two-phase
Boom-bust
Gradual increases
Stable, recent increases
Stable, recent declines
Justification
The commercial bottom longline fishery has been used as the representative fishing effort index (Table 6.3.6 in SEDAR 49 or Speckled Hind Catch.xlsx).

3.5 Inter-annual variability in historical effort

Answered
Not variable (less than 20% inter-annual change (IAC))
Variable (maximum IAC between 20% to 50%)
Highly variable (maximum IAC between 50% and 100%)
Justification
Historical effort only goes back to 1997. There are essentially two periods of effort: 1997-2008 and 2009-2013. CV in first period is 0.12; in second period is 0.31. (see Speckled Hind catch.xlsx)

3.6 Historical fishing efficiency changes

Answered
Declining by 2-3% pa (halves every 25-35 years)
Declining by 1-2% pa (halves every 35-70 years)
Stable -1% to 1% pa (may halve/double every 70 years)
Increasing by 1-2% pa (doubles every 35-70 years)
Increasing by 2-3% pa (doubles every 25-35 years)
Justification
No information on efficiency changes. Since this fishery targets reefs, it is unlikely to decline much; However, increases in range and GPS, especially in the recreational fishery, will lead to more reefs targeted, hence an increase in efficiency predicted.

3.7 Future fishing efficiency changes

Answered
Declining by 2-3% pa (halves every 25-35 years)
Declining by 1-2% pa (halves every 35-70 years)
Stable -1% to 1% pa (may halve/double every 70 years)
Increasing by 1-2% pa (doubles every 35-70 years)
Increasing by 2-3% pa (doubles every 25-35 years)
Justification
No information available; I have no reason to presume dramatic changes in efficiency.

3.8 Length at maturity

Answered
Very small (0.4 < LM < 0.5)
Small (0.5 < LM < 0.6)
Moderate (0.6 < LM < 0.7)
Moderate to large (0.7 < LM < 0.8)
Large (0.8 < LM < 0.9)
Justification
L-infinity established as 888 mm TL, length at median maturity is 532 +/- 10 mm.

3.9 Selectivity of small fish

Answered
Very small (0.1 < S < 0.2)
Small (0.2 < S < 0.4)
Half asymptotic length (0.4 < S < 0.6)
Large (0.6 < S < 0.8)
Very large (0.8 < S < 0.9)
Justification
Selectivity in SEDAR 49 assumes asymptotic selectivity with median selectivity of 43 cm; fishermen input said the same, with median selectivity of 46 cm (SEDAR 49).

3.10 Selectivity of large fish

Answered
Asymptotic selectivity (SL = 1)
Declining selectivity with length (0.75 < SL < 1)
Dome-shaped selectivity (0.25 < SL < 0.75)
Strong dome-shaped selectivity (SL < 0.25)
Justification
Asymptotic selectivity assumed (SEDAR 49).

3.11 Discard rate

Answered
Low (DR < 1%)
Low - moderate (1% < DR < 10%)
Moderate (10% < DR < 30%)
Moderate - high (30% < DR < 50%)
High (50% < DR < 70%)
Justification
Discards calculated using reef fish and shark bottom longline observer data are shown in Table 3.8.15 and discard rate is shown in Speckled Hind catch.xlsx. Discard rate in each specific year range from 1% to >40%

3.12 Post-release mortality rate

Answered
Low (PRM < 5%)
Low - moderate (5% < PRM < 25%)
Moderate (25% < PRM < 50%)
Moderate - high (50% < PRM < 75%)
High (75% < PRM < 95%)
Almost all die (95% < PRM < 100%)
Justification
Discard mortality rate assumed 100% based on expert and fisherman experience (SEDAR 49).

3.13 Recruitment variability

Answered
Very low (less than 10% inter-annual changes (IAC))
Low (max IAC of between 20% and 60%)
Moderate (max IAC of between 60% and 120%)
High (max IAC of between 120% and 180%)
Very high (max IAC greater than 180%)
Justification
Recruitment variation based on literature assembled in SEDAR 49 (Table 2.12.27).

3.14 Size of an existing MPA

Answered
None
Small (A < 5%)
Small-moderate (5% < A < 10%)
Moderate (10% < A < 20%)
Large (20% < A < 30%)
Very large (30% < A < 40%)
Huge (40% < A < 50%)
Justification
Some specific areas are closed, either at specific times or indefinitely (see Section 2.5: SEDAR 49).

3.15 Spatial mixing (movement) in/out of existing MPA

Answered
Very low (P < 1%)
Low (1% < P < 5%)
Moderate (5% < P < 10%)
High (10% < P < 20%)
Fully mixed
Justification
As a reef-associated species, mixing should be quite low.

3.16 Size of a future potential MPA

Answered
None
Small (A < 5%)
Small-moderate (5% < A < 10%)
Moderate (10% < A < 20%)
Large (20% < A < 30%)
Very large (30% < A < 40%)
Huge (40% < A < 50%)
Justification
No changes to the spatial management of the species have been discussed.

3.17 Spatial mixing (movement) in/out of future potential MPA

Answered
Very low (P < 1%)
Low (1% < P < 5%)
Moderate (5% < P < 10%)
High (10% < P < 20%)
Fully mixed
Justification
As a reef-associated species, mixing should be quite low.

3.18 Initial stock depletion

Answered
Very low (0.1 < D1 < 0.15)
Low (0.15 < D1 < 0.3)
Moderate (0.3 < D < 0.5)
High (0.5 < D1)
Asymptotic unfished levels (D1 = 1)
Justification
No information on depletion is available. SEDAR 49 ran models under a variety of assumptions of stock depletion, with the default range (0.05-0.3) largely based on other deep-water grouper).


4 Management Characteristics

4.1 Types of fishery management that are possible

Answered
TAC (Total Allowable Catch): a catch limit
TAE (Total Allowable Effort): an effort limit
Size limit
Time-area closures (a marine reserve)
Justification
1. Describe what, if any, current management measures are used to constrain catch/effort.
Commercial catch is an TAC, which is assigned to vessels as an individual fishing quota (IFQ). The commercial fishery is managed using a 4 fish daily limit from any species in the grouper aggregate.

2. Describe historical management measures, if any.
Trip limits were originally set, which were reduced from 10,000 lbs to 6,000 lbs from 2005-2009; recreational catch was limited to 5 fish from the grouper aggregate. In 2009, recreational bag limit was reduced to 4 from the grouper aggregate; commercial limits were set as an IFQ in 2010. Prior to IFQs, the fishery would be closed upon reaching the total quota.

3. Describe main strengths and weaknesses of current monitoring and enforcement capacity.
Strengths:
Onboard observers offer reasonable coverage.

Weaknesses:
Logbook information is used extensively, but is prone to underreporting. This is particularly true for discards (McCarthy 2011). Also, reporting delays may lead to recall bias.

4. Describe and reference any legal/policy requirements for management, monitoring and enforcement.
(I believe the reference above is: McCarthy, K. 2011. Calculated Goliath grouper discards from commercial vertical line and longline fishing vessels in the Gulf of Mexico and US South Atlantic. SEDAR23-DW-04.
SEDAR 49: Gulf of Mexico Data-limited Species: Red Drum, Lane Snapper, Wenchman, Yellowmouth Grouper, Speckled Hind, Snowy Grouper, Almaco Jack, Lesser Amberjack. 2016.


4.2 TAC offset: consistent overages/underages

Answered
Large underages (40% - 70% of recommended)
Underages (70% - 90% of recommended)
Slight underages (90% - 100% of recommended)
Taken exactly (95% - 105% of recommended)
Slight overages (100% - 110% of recommended)
Overages (110% - 150% of recommended)
Large overages (150% - 200% of recommended)
Justification
I cannot find information on catch relative to quota. The IFQ system now has rules to deal with overages. Each vessel is allowed to exceed their IFQ by 10%, but the overage in that year is removed from their IFQ the following year (Grouper-Tilefish IFQ Review 2018). Underages may be possible, but I do not have information to verify.


4.3 TAC implementation variability

Answered
Constant (V < 1%)
Not variable (1% < V < 5%)
Low variability (5% < V < 10%)
Variable (10% < V < 20%)
Highly variable (20% < V < 40%)
Justification
Up until IFQ was implemented, there were only a few times the aggregate grouper quota was reduced (2005, 2009; SEDAR 49). I have no information on how Hind quota has changed since implementing IFQ.


4.4 TAE offset: consistent overages/underages

Answered
Large underages (40% - 70% of recommended)
Underages (70% - 90% of recommended)
Slight underages (90% - 100% of recommended)
Taken exactly (95% - 105% of recommended)
Slight overages (100% - 110% of recommended)
Overages (110% - 150% of recommended)
Large overages (150% - 200% of recommended)
Justification
No TAE


4.5 TAE implementation variability

Answered
Constant (V < 1%)
Not variable (1% < V < 5%)
Low variability (5% < V < 10%)
Variable (10% < V < 20%)
Highly variable (20% < V < 40%)
Justification
No TAE


4.6 Size limit offset: consistent overages/underages

Answered
Much smaller (40% - 70% of recommended)
Smaller (70% - 90% of recommended)
Slightly smaller (90% - 100% of recommended)
Taken exactly (95% - 105% of recommended)
Slightly larger (100% - 110% of recommended)
Larger (110% - 150% of recommended)
Much larger (150% - 200% of recommended)
Justification
No size limit


4.7 Size limit implementation variability

Answered
Constant (V < 1%)
Not variable (1% < V < 5%)
Low variability (5% < V < 10%)
Variable (10% < V < 20%)
Highly variable (20% < V < 40%)
Justification
No size limit


5 Data Characteristics

5.1 Available data types

Answered
Historical annual catches (from unfished)
Recent annual catches (at least 5 recent years)
Historical relative abundance index (from unfished)
Recent relative abundance index (at least 5 recent years)
Fishing effort
Size composition (length samples)
Age composition (age samples)
Growth (growth parameters)
Absolute biomass survey
Justification
1. Provide the time series (specify years, if possible) that exist for catch, effort, and CPUE/abundance indices.
Commercial landings are from the vertical line and longline fisheries; they extend from 1997-2014.
Recreational landings are from all sources (headboat, charter and recreational); they extend from 1981 to 2014, though only the data from 1997 are recommended.
Effort was assumed proportional to the total bottom longline fishing effort reported using logbooks. Data exist from 1997-2014.
Abundance was indexed using the commercial longline data, which is available from 1997-2014. The SEAMAP reef fish survey was considered, but speckled hind were too infrequently seen in the video survey.

2. Describe how these data collected (e.g., log books, dealer reporting, observers).
Vertical and longline fisheries catch and effort were collected using the log book reports.
Recreational fishing catch and effort are collected through the MRFSS and MRIP surveys (for recreational catch), the Southeast Region Headboat Survey, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Louisiana Creel survey.

3. Describe what types of sampling programs and methodologies exist for data collection, including the time-series of available sampling data and quality.
Log book data from the commercial fishery are regularly reported to a central repository (the Accumulated Landings System).
MRFSS and MRIP surveys are telephone surveys sent to random households to assess recreational fishing effort
Texas and Louisiana conduct their own stratified creel surveys
Headboat data are collected using logbook data from the for-hire recreational fishery sector

4. Describe all sources of uncertainty in the status, biology, life history and data sources of the fishery. Include links to documentation, reports.
Data methods are not always continuous so conversion factors have been generated in some instances. These may be subject to uncertainty (SEDAR 49).
Data gaps regarding recreational fishery data (from page 169: SEDAR 49):
● Improve discard length and age data collection in the recreational fishery.
● Reliable estimates of discard mortality.
● Develop directed effort estimates.
● Investigate self-reported discards to determine if there is bias or misidentification in the data.
● Determine implications of gaps in the available recreational discard data.

Life history is poorly known for Speckled Hind in the Gulf of Mexico. Additional data on ages, reproduction, maturity and growth are needed (SEDAR 49).


5.2 Catch reporting bias

Answered
Strong under-reporting (30% - 50%)
Under-reporting (10% - 30%)
Slight under-reporting (less than 10%)
Reported accurately (+/- 5%)
Slight over-reporting (less than 10%)
Justification
Some sectors (deadbeat) are suspected of underreporting; the commercial sector has observer coverage, so underreporting will be less (SEDAR 49).


5.3 Hyperstability in indices

Answered
Strong hyperdepletion (2 < Beta < 3)
Hyperdepletion (1.25 < Beta < 2)
Proportional (0.8 < Beta < 1.25)
Hyperstability (0.5 < Beta < 0.8)
Strong hyperstability (0.33 < Beta < 0.5)
Justification
Hyperstability is generally unknown. Due to data limitations, it was not possible to assess in SEDAR 49. Based on their biology (reef association), I would assume a slight hyper depletion is more likely than hyperstability because the accessible fish can be easily removed.


5.4 Available data types

Answered
Perfect
Good (accurate and precise)
Data moderate (some what inaccurate and imprecise)
Data poor (inaccurate and imprecise)
Justification
Length/age composition data are very infrequent and data availability is low.


6 Version Notes

The package is subject to ongoing testing. If you find a bug or a problem please send a report to so that it can be fixed!





shiny-2019-07-10-16:03:39

Open Source, GPL-2 2019