Starting in 2009, the 5-grouper bag limit in federal waters off the east coast drops to three. The tighter regulations are part of Amendment 16 of the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan recently approved by South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC). The amendment still must be reviewed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and receive approval by the Secretary of Commerce before implementation; until then, an interim rule is expected to go into effect starting in 2009.

The interim rule implements only parts of the final Amendment 16. Interim rules include a 4-month spawning season closure for gag, black grouper and red grouper starting in January and a reduction from the 5-grouper aggregate bag limit to a three. The existing bag limit of two gag or black grouper would drop to one.

Measures in the final Amendment 16 include a 4-month spawning closure starting in January for most shallow-water grouper, including gag grouper, black grouper, red grouper, scamp, red hind, rock hind, yellowmouth grouper, tiger grouper, yellowfin grouper, graysby and coney. Captain and crew on for-hire vessels would not be allowed to possess a bag limit of groupers. The commercial quota for gag grouper would go to an astounding 352,940 pounds gutted weight. All purchase and sale of shallow-water grouper would be prohibited after the quota is met.

The Council’s actions—says SAFMC—are driven by mandates from the Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization Act that require fisheries managers to implement measures to end overfishing within a one-year period after overfishing has been identified. Both gag grouper and vermilion snapper stocks were identified as undergoing overfishing through the Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) stock assessment process in June 2007.

An additional age-based SEDAR stock assessment for vermilion snapper is currently underway and the results may indicate a stock status better than originally reported. Amendment 16 contains a provision that would allow adjustments to the vermilion snapper harvest if necessary, based on the updated assessment. Red snapper stocks will be addressed by the Council during its November 30 to December 5 meeting in Wilmington, North Carolina.