Mackerel Fishing Seasons and Closures

Commercial quota, fishing year, seasonal closures and current status for Gulf and South Atlantic king and Spanish mackerel.  Quotas are in whole weight. 

King Mackerel Group/Zone/Subzone		Commercial				Recreational
		Quota	Fishing Year	Status (Closure date)		Allocation	Seasonal closure	Status
Gulf Group						6,936,000	None	Open
Western Zone (TX-AL)		1,010,000	Jul 1-Jun 30	Closed
Eastern Zone (FL)	West Coast North (1)	168,750	Jul 1-Jun 30	Closed
	West Coast South (2)	520,312 (H&L)	Jul 1-Jun 30	Closed
		520,312 (gillnet)	Tues after MLK Day-June 30	Closed
	East Coast (3)	1,040,625	Nov 1-Mar 31	Closed
Atlantic Group (4)		3,880,000	Mar 1-Feb 28	Open		6,580,000	None	Open
Spanish Mackerel
Gulf Group		5,187,000	Apr 1-Mar 31	Open		3,913,000	None	Open
Atlantic Group		3,130,000	Mar 1-Feb 28	Open		2,560,000	None	Open

(1) AL/FL state line to Lee/Collier County line.

(2) April 1-October 31: Lee/Collier County line to Collier/Monroe County line.  November 1-March 31: Lee/Collier County line to Monroe/Miami-Dade County line.

(3) Miami-Dade/Monroe County Line to Flagler/Volusia County line.

(4) April 1-October 31: Collier/Monroe County line through New York
  November 1-March 31: Flagler/Volusia County line through New York

 

Please Note: This summary is intended to provide appropriate information to fishers about regulations and the sustainable use of marine fishery resources. This summary is for general information purposes. Fishery Regulations are subject to changes. For more information on fishery regulations consult the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 622 or the NOAA Fisheries Service Southeast Regional Office Fishery Regulation website.

This page provides only a summary of the information regarding the existing regulations. Any discrepancies between this information and the regulations as published in the Federal Register will be resolved in favor of the Federal Register.