The 19th quota monitoring report of commercial king mackerel and Spanish mackerel landings for the 2002/2003 fishing year is attached.

GULF GROUP KING MACKEREL

The fisheries for Gulf group king mackerel opened for the 2002/2003 fishing year on July 1, 2002. The Florida east coast subzone, however, opened on November 1, 2002, and will close on 03/31/2003, unless the quota is taken at an earlier date. In accordance with the regulations, NOAA Fisheries increased the daily trip limit for this sector from 50 fish to 75 fish on February 1, 2003. This increase in the trip limit is required if landing estimates indicate that less than 75 percent (or 780,469 pounds) of the Florida east coast subzone quota (1,040,625 pounds) has been harvested prior to February 1.

The gillnet fishery for Gulf group king mackerel in the southern Florida west coast subzone was closed at 6:00 a.m. on February 4, 2003, when landings projections indicated that the 520,312-pound quota would be taken. This fishery will re-open at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 20, 2004, following the Monday Martin Luther King Federal holiday.

For the hook-and-line fishery for Gulf group king mackerel in the southern Florida west coast subzone the daily vessel trip limit remains at 1,250 pounds. When landings reach the 75-percent quota level (390,234 pounds), NOAA Fisheries will reduce the trip limit to 500 pounds/day. The current landings estimate indicate that this level will be reached when hook-and-line vessels land an additional 117,004 pounds of king mackerel.

The 2002/2003 fishing year for the Atlantic migratory groups of king mackerel and Spanish mackerel and the Gulf migratory group of Spanish mackerel began on April 1, 2002, and will end on March 31, 2003.

ATLANTIC GROUP SPANISH MACKEREL

For the commercial fishery for Atlantic group Spanish mackerel off the Florida east coast, the unlimited trip limit season began on December 1, 2002. The daily trip limit will remain unlimited Monday through Friday and at 1,500 pounds on the weekends (Saturday and Sunday) until 75 percent (or 2,715,000 pounds) of the adjusted allocation (3,620,000 pounds) is harvested. When landing estimates indicate that 2,715,000 pounds of Spanish mackerel have been landed, NOAA Fisheries will reduce the daily vessel trip limit to 1,500 pounds for all days of the week. The current estimate indicates that the 75-percent level will be reached with the landings of an additional 267,741 pounds of fish. Considering that landings for the past five years have not reached that level, it appears unlikely that NOAA Fisheries will reduce the trip limit this season. Florida east coast landings of Spanish mackerel for March during the past five years (1998-2002) have not exceeded 244,000 pounds.

Thanks again to our folks at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center for monitoring these mackerel landings. We also would like to thank NMFS (NOAA) SE Office of Law Enforcement, the Florida Marine Patrol, and the U.S. Coast Guard for their efforts in helping to monitor the Gulf group king mackerel gillnet quota this past week.