August 9, 2022 — Recreational harvest of red grouper in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) will close at 12:01 am, local time, on August 30, 2022, and will remain closed until the 2023 fishing year begins on January 1, 2023.
Landings information received from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center and Southeast Regional Office indicate the 2022 recreational annual catch target (ACT) of 1,840,000 pounds gutted weight (lb gw) is projected to be met on August 29, 2022.
In accordance with the regulations, NOAA Fisheries must close harvest when the recreational ACT has been met or is projected to be met. Therefore, this closure will begin on August 30, 2022. This closure is needed to prevent overfishing of red grouper (annual catch rate is too high).