Fishermen are worry about their catch whether it is contaminated by oil or not. The fear of oil contamination has spread like wild fire among the consumers and fishermen. So both the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) have decided to bring some change sin the existing fishing rules— some for the good and some for the bad.
The Gulf Council, which develops plans for the NMFS, agreed to reopen the recreational red snapper season, beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1 and running through 12:01 p.m. on Nov. 22. Fishing will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday only, allowing for an additional 24 fishing days. This means that the red snapper fishing in both state and federal waters will be reopened.
The FWC is holding its regular commission meeting this week at the Hilton on Pensacola Beach and redfish is on the agenda. A recent re-evaluation of the red drum stock assessment indicated that red drum in the two northern regions are exceeding the management goal. The new measure would create three regions for red drum management in Florida with the same boundaries as the sea trout regions. Florida would be divided into northwest, northeast and south regions.
The Gulf Council also approved a request that NOAA Fisheries Service publish an interim rule that will prohibit the recreational harvest of gags beginning Jan. 1, 2011. A regulatory framework action is being considered by the Gulf Council that could result in a recreational season closure for greater amberjack in an effort to avoid in-season quota closures during peak fishing months.
