Commercial trip limits for Atlantic Spanish mackerel in the Southern Zone

3.3. Economic Environment

A description of the recreational sector of the Spanish mackerel component of the CMP fishery is contained in Amendment 20A (GMFMC/SAFMC 2013a) and is incorporated herein by reference. Because Framework Amendment 2 would only change management of the commercial sector, summary and update of the information on the recreational sector is not provided in this assessment.

3.3.2 Economic Description of the Commercial Sector

A description of the commercial sector of the Spanish mackerel component of the CMP fishery is contained in Amendment 20A (GMFMC/SAFMC 2013a) and is incorporated herein by reference. Because this proposed framework amendment would only change management of the Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel, only the available information on this stock is summarized in this assessment.
Number of Vessels and Ex-vessel Revenue

An economic description of the commercial sectors for Spanish mackerel is contained in Vondruska (2010) and is incorporated herein by reference. Updated select summary statistics are provided in Table 3.3.2.1. These estimates include the average number of vessels per fishing year that recorded harvesting at least one pound of Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel over the 2007/2008 through 2011/2012 fishing years, the average ex-vessel revenue from Spanish mackerel, the average ex-vessel revenue from all other species harvested on all trips by these vessels (regardless of whether Spanish mackerel was harvested on the trip), and the average ex-vessel revenue per vessel.

Table 3.3.2.1. Average number of vessels, ex-vessel revenue from Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel, ex-vessel revenue from all species harvested by same vessels, and average ex-vessel revenue per vessel. All revenue estimates are in 2013 dollars.

Five-year averages in column 3 are based on fishing years for Spanish mackerels

(2007/2008, 2008/2009, 2011/2012). Five-year averages in column 4 are based on calendar years (2007-2011).

Source: NMFS SEFSC Coastal Fisheries Logbook for landings and NMFS Accumulated Landings System for prices. Note that small amounts (1.95% of Spanish mackerel) are landed in the Northeast and are not counted here. Similar, landings and revenue from State waters by vessels without federal permits are not included.

The commercial harvest and subsequent sales and consumption of fish generates business activity as fishermen expend funds to harvest the fish and consumers spend money on goods and services, such as Spanish mackerel purchased at a local fish market and served during restaurant visits. These expenditures spur additional business activity in the region(s) where the harvest and purchases are made, such as jobs in local fish markets, grocers, restaurants, and fishing supply establishments. In the absence of the availability of a given species for purchase, consumers would spend their money on substitute goods and services. As a result, the analysis presented below represents a distributional analysis only; that is, it only shows how economic effects may be distributed through regional markets.