December 11, 2020 — Local commercial fishermen have until Saturday to harvest snowy grouper.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service announced Monday the commercial harvest of snowy grouper in federal waters of the South Atlantic, including those waters off North Carolina, will close at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. During the closure, all sale or purchase of snow grouper is prohibited. Harvest or possession of snowy group in or from federal waters is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits while the recreational sector is open.
The closure is happening because commercial landings are projected to reach the increased July through December commercial catch limit. According to the accountability measure, commercial harvest must close to prevent the catch limit from being exceeded.