According to NOAA Fisheries Service the 2010/2011 commercial quota of 168,750 pounds of king mackerel from this subzone has been reached. Therefore, the agency has decided prolong the closure in effect through to the end of the fishing year – 30 June 2011. During the closure period, no person aboard a vessel for which a commercial permit for king mackerel has been issued may fish for or retain Gulf group king mackerel in federal waters of the closed subzone.
The agency has kept one exception in this case. A person aboard a vessel that has a valid charter/headboat permit and also has a commercial king mackerel permit for coastal migratory pelagic fish may continue to retain king mackerel in or from the closed subzone under the two-fish daily bag limit, provided the vessel is operating as a charter vessel or headboat. During the closure, no king mackerel caught in the closed subzone may be purchased, bartered, traded, or sold. This includes recreational and tournament-caught fish.
