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Grouper Fishery Information

Both the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fisheries Management Councils are contemplating changes to grouper regulations that apply in the federally-managed waters off Florida.  The FWC is actively participating in these decision-making processes and may address any potential regulation changes for state waters following the Councils' actions.  These proposed changes largely affect red, gag and black grouper.

Current Recreational Regulations
- Gag, Black, Red Grouper -
(State and Federal Waters)

Atlantic Ocean and Monroe County

	Gag	Black	Red
Minimum Size Limit	24" TL	24" TL	20" TL
Bag Limit	up to 2 gag or black within the 5 grouper aggregate	up to 2 gag or black within the 5 grouper aggregate	up to 5 within the 5 grouper aggregate

Gulf of Mexico (excluding Monroe County)

	Gag	Black	Red
Minimum Size Limit	22" TL	22" TL	20" TL
Bag Limit	up to 5 gag within the 5 grouper aggregate	up to 5 black within the 5 grouper aggregate	1 per person within the 5 grouper aggregate
Capt/Crew	charter captain/crew - zero bag limit
Closure	Feb 15 until Mar 15 in federal waters

*Note: New gear rules requiring circle hooks, dehooking and venting tools to be used in the Gulf reef fish fishery (including Gulf side of Monroe County) is effective June 1st

Pending Regulation Changes (Federal Waters)
- Gag, Black, Red Grouper -

Gulf of Mexico [Federal Waters (> 9mi)]

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is scheduled to take action or continue developing the proposed regulations for gag, black, and red grouper at their June 2-6, 2008 meeting in Houston.  It is expected that these regulations would take effect in 2009.  The FWC may be considering similar changes during the second half of 2008.

The following proposed federal regulation changes are being developed to reduce harvest in order to end overfishing (excessive fishing pressure):

For further details on proposed changes, review the April 2008 Background Report.

ATLANTIC OCEAN [Federal Waters (>3 mi)]

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is considering changes to grouper regulations for federal waters in the Atlantic.   At their meeting in March 2008, the South Atlantic Council selected preferred management options. These proposed regulations include:

Public hearings hosted by the South Atlantic Council for these potential federal changes will occur in Florida during May (Homestead on May 7, Port Canaveral on May 12) and final action is expected at their June 8-13 2008 meeting in Orlando.

Other Grouper Information

• Goliath Grouper Information
• Archived Grouper Information (2005-06)

• Current Regulations
• Pending Regulations
• Goliath Grouper
• Other Grouper Information

Black Grouper Photo Credit:
Kyle Miller

Further details on current regulations:

• Recreational Grouper Regulations Table
• Commercial Grouper Regulations Table
• State Reef Fish Rule, 68B-14, F.A.C.
• Federal Code of Regulations
• Marine Fisheries Regulations information

Shallow-Water Groupers

• Gag (Species Description)
• Black (Species Description)
• Red (Species Description)
• Scamp (Species Description)
• Red Hind
• Rock Hind
• Yellowmouth Grouper
• Tiger Grouper
• Yellowfin Grouper
• Graysby
• Coney

More information on proposed changes

• April 2008 DMFM Background Report
• Reef Fish Amendment 30B Public Hearing Draft (March 2008) - Gulf
• Snapper Grouper Amendment 15B Public Hearing Document (November 2007) - Atlantic
• South Atlantic Council Press Release

More Grouper Fishery Information

• Grouper Stock Assessments (SEDAR)
• Gulf Grouper Management in Federal Waters (NOAA SERO)
• Gulf Grouper Forum (NOAA SERO)
• Gag Grouper Species Account (FWRI)
• Red Grouper Species Account (FWRI)
• Grouper Sea Stats (FWRI)