South Atlantic Fishing Seasons and Closures

Commercial quota, fishing year, seasonal closures and current status (as of May 1, 2012) of some South Atlantic species.  Other species not listed do not currently have seasonal closures or quotas. There is a closure in place for red snapper for both commercial and recreational sectors.

Species or species group	Commercial			Recreational
	Quota (Fishing Year)	Seasonal closure	Status (Closure date)	Quota or Allowance (1)	Seasonal closure	Status
Vermilion snapper	315,523 (Jan-Jun)	None	Closed (02/29/12-06/30/12)	307,315	Nov 1-Mar 31	Open
	302,523 (July-Dec)
Red Snapper	Closed (2)			Closed (2)
Mutton Snapper	N/A (Jan-Dec)	May 1-Jun 30 (3)	Closed (3)	n/a	None	Open
Black Sea Bass	309,000 (June-May)	None	Closed (07/15/11)	341,747	None	Closed (10/17/11)
Gag	352,940 (Jan-Dec)	Jan 1-Apr 30	Open	340,060	Jan 1-Apr 30	Open
Gag, Red Grouper, Black Grouper combined	662,403 (Jan-Dec)	Jan 1-Apr 30	Open	648,663	Jan 1-Apr 30	Open
Shallow Water Grouper (4)	N/A (Jan-Dec)	Jan 1-Apr 30	Open	n/a	Jan 1-Apr 30	Open
Red Porgy	190,000 (Jan-Dec)	Jan 1-Apr 30	Open	n/a	None	Open
Greater Amberjack	1,169,931 (May-April)	Apr 1-Apr 30	Open	n/a	None	Open
Snowy grouper	82,900 (Jan-Dec)	None	Open	523 fish	None	Open
Golden tilefish	282,819 (Jan-Dec)	None	Closed (02/17/12)	1,578 fish	None	Open
Wreckfish	2,000,000 (April 16-April 15)	Jan 15- Apr 15	Open	Wreckfish permit required for retention.
Atlantic group king mackerel	3,710,000 (March 1-Feb 28)	None	Open	n/a	None	Open

(1) Amendment 17B Effective January 31, 2011.

(2) Amendment 17A Effective December 3, 2010.

(3) During May and June, possession limited to 10 per person per day or per trip, whichever is more restrictive.

(4) Shallow water grouper includes:  Gag; black grouper; red grouper; scamp; red hind; rock hind; coney; graysby; yellowfin grouper; yellowmouth grouper; and tiger grouper.

(5) For information on recreational bag limits, please visit the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council's Web site at: http://www.safmc.net/FishIDandRegs/RegulationsbySpecies/tabid/248/Default.aspx

 

Please Note: This summary is intended to provide appropriate information to fishers about regulations and the sustainable use of marine fishery resources in the South Atlantic. 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.