NOAA agrees to withhold a portion of the commercial red snapper quota

NOAA Fisheries has approved a plan to withhold a percentage of the 2016 red snapper commercial quota in the Gulf of Mexico.

The plan is to withhold 352 thousand pounds of the 2016 red snapper commercial quota in the Gulf of Mexico – which is about 5 percent of the total.

The action was approved because of the likely passage of new rules that would increase the red snapper allocation for the recreational sectors from 49 percent to 51 and a half percent.

If that change passes and the new allocations take effect on January 1^st and the quota is not held back then NOAA Fisheries has no way to get it back it for re-distribution to the recreational sectors quota.   

If the new rules are not approved, the 352,000 pounds withheld will be returned to the commercial individual fishing quota program.

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