A ban on recreational Gag grouper fishing took effect on January the 1st.
The ban prohibits recreational fishing for gag grouper in Gulf of Mexico federal waters for the first 6 months of 2011 and could be extended an additional six months if necessary.
This rule also reduces the commercial quota from one and a half million pounds to 100,000 pounds.
This rule also reduces the commercial quota from one and a half million pounds to 100,000 pounds.
The lower quota is expected to discourage commercial vessels from targeting gag grouper or from fishing in areas with a high accidental catch of gag grouper.
The temporary rule is designed to protect gag grouper from continued overfishing while NOAA Fisheries Service completes work on a long-term solution.
Commercial Fishermen are also seeing a cut in the red grouper quota this year.
As of January the 1st the red grouper quota was cut from 7.5 million pounds to 5.7 million pounds.
That rule was approved after a recent scientific assessment indicated the red grouper population has declined since 2005.
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