Gulf Reef Fish Get Bag Limit Brainstorm in Tampa
Published Date: 1/30/2025
Notice
Summary
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is holding a public meeting on February 19-20, 2025, in Tampa, FL, to explore new ways to manage popular reef fish species. This affects recreational fishers who might see changes in fishing seasons, bag limits, and boat rules. The goal is to create smart, fair fishing rules that protect fish and fun, with no immediate cost changes announced yet.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Possible changes to fishing rules
The Council is exploring changes that could affect recreational fishers of Gulf of Mexico reef species, including preferred seasons, bag limits, and vessel (boat) limits. The Working Group will consider harvest control rules and approaches to prevent overfishing, address discards and discard mortality, and address uncertainty in recreational data. No immediate cost changes are announced in this notice; recommendations will be developed for the Council to consider.
Public meeting, webinar, and accommodations
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will hold the Recreational Initiative Working Group meeting in Tampa, FL on February 19, 2025 (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST) and February 20, 2025 (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST) at the Gulf Council Office (4107 W Spruce Street, Suite 200). The public may listen in via webinar by registering at www.gulfcouncil.org; requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Kathy Pereira at (813) 348-1630 at least 15 days before the meeting date.
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