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News Release

FWC proposes Atlantic grouper and reef fish protections

September 10, 2009
Contact: Lee Schlesinger, 850-487-0554

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) on Thursday proposed rules consistent with federal regulations to address overfishing of grouper in the Atlantic Ocean and help anglers protect Atlantic reef fish when they are released to the water.

Stock assessments indicate that Atlantic gag, red and black grouper are undergoing overfishing, which means that fishing pressure is too high to be sustainable.  Measures were recently implemented in Atlantic federal waters (beyond three miles from shore) to reduce the harvest of these species.  Nine other kinds of shallow-water groupers were also included in this action to reduce the incidental catch and discard mortality of gag, red and black grouper.

The federal rules:

• decrease the aggregate daily recreational bag limit for all Atlantic grouper from 5 fish to 3 fish per person,
• prohibit the captain and crew of for-hire vessels from retaining any species in the aggregate grouper bag limit, and
• allow anglers to keep no more than 1 gag or black grouper combined in the Atlantic.

In addition, the federal rules prohibit all harvest of shallow-water groupers (including gag, black grouper, red grouper, scamp, red hind, rock hind, coney, grasby, yellowfin grouper, yellowmouth grouper and tiger grouper) from Jan. 1 - April 30 in Atlantic waters.  This spawning season closure applies to all recreational shallow-water grouper harvest and lengthens the previous 2-month closure to commercial grouper fishing in the Atlantic.

The FWC is now proposing to apply the same regulations in Atlantic and Monroe County state waters to help speed the recovery and rebuilding process for Atlantic grouper and reduce the likelihood of harvest overruns and possible additional restrictions in federal waters.

The Commission is also proposing a federal consistency rule that would require dehooking tools to be aboard commercial and recreational vessels fishing for reef fish in Atlantic state waters.  Dehooking tools are a proven way to limit the handling of fish and help increase the odds that fish will survive when they are released.

Final public hearings on the proposed federal consistency rules for Atlantic grouper and dehooking tools will be held during the December FWC meeting in Clewiston.