April 14, 2016 — The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council met in Austin, Texas, April 4 – 7, 2016, to discuss a number of fishery issues, such as Red Grouper Catch Limit Increases, Charter and Headboat Reporting Requirements, Changes in King Mackerel Allocation, Stock Boundaries, and Sale Provisions, and the Hogfish Annual Catch Limit, Minimum Size Limit, and Stock Definition.
Recreational Red Snapper 2016 Season
The Council received an update from NOAA Fisheries Service on the red snapper season projections for 2016. Both the private recreational season and federal charter for-hire season will open on June 1. National Marine Fisheries predicts a private recreational season of 6-9 days and a federal charter for-hire season of 38-56 days. The final 2016 recreational red snapper season closing dates will be announced in May prior to the start of the season. To read more about how the season was calculated, visit http://gulfcouncil.blogspot.com/.
Red Snapper Management for Federally Permitted Charter Vessels – Amendment 41
The Council reviewed the updated Reef Fish Amendment 41 including input received from the Ad Hoc Red Snapper Charter For-Hire Advisory Panel. This amendment considers creating a red snapper management plan for federally permitted for-hire vessels fishing under the for-hire component of the recreational red snapper allocation. The Council provided guidance to staff on developing the draft amendment and agreed to reconvene its Ad Hoc Red Snapper Charter For-Hire Advisory Panel to continue work on the design of an allocation-based management plan for red snapper. Additionally, the Council requested that the Advisory Panel discuss a harvest tag program that provides recreational anglers with annual allocation distributed in the form of harvest tags which may be used on the charter vessel of their choice, and to evaluate the pros and cons of such a program. The Council will review a revised draft of the amendment in June.