• Recreational harvest of gray triggerfish in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) will reopen at 12:01 am, local time, on September 1, 2020, and close at 12:01 am, local time, on October 26, 2020.
• Recreational harvest will reopen in the Gulf for the 2021 fishing season at 12:01 am, local time, on March 1, 2021, when the January-February seasonal closure ends.
• NOAA Fisheries will publish a closure notice when the annual catch target is reached or projected to be reached.

WHY THIS REOPENING IS HAPPENING:

• The 2020 recreational annual catch target is 217,100 pounds whole weight.  Projections indicated that recreational landings of gray triggerfish were expected to meet the annual catch target as of May 2, 2020, and recreational harvest was subsequently closed.
• Updated landings information for 2020 indicate the annual catch target has not been met.
• This opening will allow the recreational annual catch target to be caught, while minimizing the risk of it being exceeded.