Commercial Fishing

NOAA: Modifications to Commercial King and Spanish Mackerel Permit

Drawing of a Spanish mackerel by Diane Rome Peebles

KEY MESSAGE: NOAA Fisheries announces a final rule to allow fishing for and retaining the recreational bag and possession limits of king and Spanish mackerel in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf), South Atlantic, and Mid-Atlantic on a vessel with a federal commercial permit for king or Spanish mackerel when commercial…

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NOAA Fisheries: Final Rule Changing Hogfish Management Measures

image of hogfish swimming by Andrew David

KEY MESSAGE: NOAA Fisheries announces a final rule for hogfish in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf). Hogfish in the Gulf of Mexico will be managed as a single population from the Texas/Mexico border to a line near Cape Sable, Florida A recent population assessment determined that the Gulf hogfish population…

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Public Comment on the G.U.L.F. RFM Scheme Open

fresh oytser

Audubon G.U.L.F. is developing a Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) Certification that is “a credible, practical, cost-effective, and transparent approach to fisheries certification. This certification allows companies to demonstrate the responsible practices of the seafood they source.”  Fisheries in the program are Louisiana blue crab and Louisiana oyster. They are taking…

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Enhancements to Login Procedure for Catch Shares Online System

red snapper

KEY MESSAGE: NOAA Fisheries has simplified the login procedure for the catch share online system. The catch share online system is home to the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) programs for commercial Red Snapper and Grouper-Tilefish as well as the Bluefin Tuna Individual Bycatch Quota (BFT) program. Users no longer have…

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LA Shrimp Season to Close In Remaining Inside Waters on July 24

fishing boat at sea

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced the 2017 spring inshore shrimp season will close on Monday, July 24 at 6 p.m. in Lake Pontchartrain, Chef Menteur and Rigolets passes, Lake Borgne, and the Louisiana portion of Mississippi Sound. With this action, all state inside waters will be closed…

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NOAA Fisheries: Gulf Shrimp Fishery to Re-Open off Texas on July 15

silhouette of trawl arm and net on shrimp boat in water

WHAT/WHEN: NOAA Fisheries announces federal waters from 9 to 200 nautical miles off Texas will open to shrimp trawling at 30 minutes after official sunset, local time, on July 15, 2017, corresponding to the time Texas opens its waters to shrimp trawling. WHY THIS IS HAPPENING: The waters off Texas are…

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