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The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council met in Saint Petersburg, Florida, from November 4-7, 2024. The Council adopted Council Committee assignments for the next year and presented the 2023 Law Enforcement Team of the Year Award to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Northwest Offshore Patrol Vessel Team.
The Council’s actions included the following:
Wahoo*
The Council heard a presentation on the consideration of wahoo for federal management in the Gulf of Mexico. The Council, the National Marine Sanctuaries, or the Gulf States could consider management. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission regulates wahoo with a 2-fish bag limit for the recreational sector. The Council requested that the remaining Gulf states consider the appropriateness of developing state wahoo regulations that would also apply to federal waters, because there are currently no federal regulations in the Gulf of Mexico. The states committed to evaluating state management of wahoo and the Council plans discuss the issue further in 2025.
Shrimp
Deep-Water Grouper
Shallow-Water Grouper
Lane Snapper
Commercial Individual Fishing Quota Program
Federal For-Hire Fishing
Greater Amberjack
Exempted Fishing Permit
See the press release for full details on each of these topics.
*Full text from the press release is provided on the Wahoo issue since it is directly related to Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary management.
SOURCE: Gulf Council
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