Gulf of Mexico

Solutions

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is working on federally mandated plans to end overfishing – fishing at unsustainably high rates. Four Gulf species are suffering from overfishing: red snapper, gag grouper, greater amberjack and gray triggerfish. The federal Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires fishery managers to set science-based limits on the numbers of fish caught annually by deadlines in 2010 and 2011.

The council already has some plans in place for species undergoing overfishing and is considering rules for about 50 more species ranging from cobia to all other groupers and snappers. The National Marine Fisheries Service must give final approval to council actions. The 17-member appointed council manages fisheries in federal waters up to 200 miles off the coasts of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

The council is composed of recreational and commercial fishermen, state fishery managers and other experts. It meets five times annually in public meetings throughout the Gulf region.