April 14, 2015 — The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council recently met in Biloxi, Mississippi the former administrative capital of French Louisiana once named Bilocci, to discuss a number of fishery issues, including regional management for recreational red snapper and red snapper allocation.
The group of representatives representing the five Gulf States received an update on the red snapper season projections for 2015 from National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) that advised the Council the recreational red snapper season dates would be announced in May prior to the June 1 season start. The season length will be dependent on the approval and implementation by the Secretary of Commerce of Reef Fish Amendment 40 – Sector Separation and the state water red snapper seasons.
Amendment 28 – Red Snapper Allocation
During the meeting held on the beautiful Mississippi coast, the Council reviewed a draft of Amendment 28, which considers reallocating the red snapper quota between sectors.
The Council chose Action 1 – Alternative 8 as its preferred alternative. The alternative would allow any increase in allowable harvest from the update assessment to be allocated to the recreational sector.
According to a recent update report by the Gulf Council, this will result in 51.5% of the quota going to the recreational sector and 48.5% to the commercial sector.
Read the full story from the Gulf Seafood Institute