Red grouper catch limits will be increased for the remainder of 2025, to boost “harvest opportunities for commercial and recreational fishermen, leading to improved economic benefits for the region,” the National Marine Fisheries Service announced this week.
“This action is supported by the updated stock assessment for Gulf red grouper, which found that catch limits could be increased substantially while still maintaining fishing at a sustainable level,” according to the agency.
The Gulf Regional Fishery Management Council requested the NMFS action based on updated stock assessment information that showed catch limits could be increased substantially while still maintaining fishing at a sustainable level.
“This emergency rule means more time on the water catching more red grouper, and it is good news for Gulf of America fishermen,” said Eugenio Piñeiro Soler, the acting assistant Secretary of Commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA Fisheries’ assistant administrator.
The emergency rule will be in effect through Dec. 31. Meanwhile the Gulf council continues to develop an amendment to its reef fish management plan that will examine increasing catch limits and modifying allocations between the commercial and recreational sectors. The council and NMFS officials expect the amendment will be ready to put in place in mid-2026.
Without the emergency rule, the 2025 recreational fishing season would have closed after reaching its quota in July. Without this emergency rule, the recreational sector would have closed through the end of the fishing year. Both the commercial and recreational for-hire sectors have been affected economically by “reductions in catch limits for red grouper and co-occurring reef fish species in recent years” including gag grouper and greater amberjack, according to NMFS.
The revised stock assessment numbers extend the commercial acceptable catch limits from 2.94 million pounds to 4.42 million pounds (the commercial share is 59.3 percent of the stock acceptable catch limit). The annual commercial catch target is moved up from 2.79 million pounds to 4.20 million pounds.
