PR DAP MEETING REPORT
In the past meeting of the PR DAP, which I consider was one of the best in a long time, several recommendations were made to this Council. Regarding the IBFMP It came to light that in the past Spiny Lobster closure, a news site from PR (NOTICEL) published in its headlines that PR would not have lobsters until October, that they could not be fished, bought, or sold. This caused great confusion in the restaurants and refused to buy it as they thought it was an illegal act. The market of lobsters was affected until the situation was clarified. We suggested that when is time to apply accountability measures, to use a simple and clear language to prevent it to happen again. We also recommended to the OEAP to issue a press release when these closures arise. Another issue related to lobsters was the ACL’s table where it shows a drop for the next few years. The DAP wondered why this happens if during the past seven years catches have been abundant, with a considerable mix of juveniles and adults. They also questioned if most of the catches takes place in local waters, why closures are applied in federal waters. Regarding this matter, we recommend the following: - A revision of the Spiny Lobster ACL is necessary considering the biological size data. - We recommend evaluating the possibility of obtaining statistics with an independent landings program. - We request to the SSC to hold a workshop with the existing projects using lobsters as a model. We want to know which projects are running, the data you need and how fishermen can collaborate. Maybe creating a committee that includes all sectors related to lobsters fishing, like divers pots and