NOAA Fisheries Announces the 2024 Gag Recreational Season in Federal Waters of the Gulf of Mexico (2024)

June 25, 2024

FB24-045: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Bulletin; For more information, contact: Dan Luers, Daniel.Luers@noaa.gov, 727-824-5305

Bulletin |

What/When/Why:

• Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico will open to gag recreational harvest at 12:01 a.m., local time, September 1, 2024, and will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, September 16, 2024.

Why The Gag Closure Is Happening:

• NOAA Fisheries projects the 2024 recreational annual catch target will be harvested as of September 15, 2024.

• In accordance with the regulations, NOAA Fisheries must close harvest when the recreational annual catch target has been met or is projected to be met. Therefore, this closure will begin on September 16, 2024.

During The Closure:

• During the recreational closure, the bag and possession limits are zero for gag in or from federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
• The prohibition on possession of Gulf of Mexico gag also applies in Gulf of Mexico state waters for a vessel issued a valid federal charter vessel/headboat permit for Gulf of Mexico reef fish.
  

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the catch levels for gag in the Gulf of Mexico?

• The 2023 recreational annual catch limit for gag was 403,759 pounds gutted weight. This annual catch limit was derived, in part, using landings estimates for Florida from the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP). Final 2023 landings estimates from MRIP were 737,706 pounds gutted weight.
• On June 1, 2024, NOAA Fisheries implemented a final rule for Amendment 56 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Amendment 56). The final rule revised the commercial and recreational catch levels, the recreational accountability measures, and the recreational fishing season for gag based on the results of the SEDAR 72 (2022) stock assessment, which determined that gag is both overfished and experiencing overfishing.
• The new catch limits, which represent a reduction in allowable harvest, are based on the projections from SEDAR 72, which included estimates of recreational landings in Florida derived from and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s State Reef Fish Survey (SRFS).
• The 2024 recreational annual catch limit for gag is 288,000 pounds gutted weight and the recreational annual catch target for gag is 230,000 pounds gutted weight.
• Because the catch limits in the final rule for Amendment 56 were derived, in part, using estimates from SRFS, these catch limits are not directly comparable to the 2023 catch limits. To determine the magnitude of the 2023 overage as compared to the 2024 annual catch limit, NMFS calibrated the 2023 recreational annual catch limit and recreational landings to be consistent with the estimates produced by SRFS. This calibration results in a 2023 recreational ACL of 211,588 pounds gutted weight and 2023 recreational landings of 336,182 pounds gutted weight.
• The calibrated 2023 annual catch limit was exceeded by 124,624 pounds gutted weight.
• Accountability measures require the recreational sector to be closed when the annual catch limit is met or expected to be met. In addition, if gag is overfished and the annual catch limit is exceeded then the annual catch limit and annual catch target is reduced by the amount of the overage in the prior fishing year.
• Because the recreational landings in 2023 exceeded the annual catch limit and the accountability measures in place for gag require the overage from the prior year to be paid back because the stock is overfished, the 2024 recreational annual catch limit and annual catch target will be reduced to 163,376 and 105,376 pounds gutted weight, respectively.

How was the recreational gag season determined?

• NOAA Fisheries worked with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to project the fall season length for gag based on the 2024 recreational annual catch target of 105,376 pounds gutted weight.
• The closure date is based on projected harvest rates using recreational landings from 2020 through 2023, and the evaluation of five scenarios that generated predicted closure dates ranging from September 13, 2024, to September 22, 2024.
• NOAA Fisheries chose to be conservative by selecting a closure date near the low end of the season duration projections, due to the large overage of the catch limits that occurred in 2023 and the impacts that would be imparted on the recreational sector in 2025 if an overage of the annual catch limit was to occur in 2024.
• This closure will reduce the likelihood of the 2024 annual catch limit being exceeded.

Sign Up For Text Message Alerts - Find Out About Immediate Openings and Closures

NOAA's Text Message Alert Program allows you to receive important fishery-related alerts via text message (SMS). Standard message & data rates may apply. You may opt out at any time.

Text alerts you may receive include:

• Immediate fishery openings and closures
• Any significant changes to fishing regulations that happen quickly

Sign up for one or more of the following groups:

• Gulf of Mexico Recreational Fisheries Related Alerts
  • Text GULFRECFISH to 888777
• Gulf of Mexico Commercial Fisheries Related Alerts
  • Text GULFCOMMFISH to 888777
• South Atlantic Recreational Fisheries Related Alerts
  • Text SATLRECFISH to 888777
• South Atlantic Commercial Fisheries Related Alerts
  • Text SATLCOMMFISH to 888777
• Caribbean Fisheries-Related Alerts
  • Text CARIBFISH to 888777

Quick Glance Contact List for the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office

Permits Mailbox: The Permits Office in St. Petersburg, Florida, now has a Permits mailbox in the front lobby (263 13th Ave. South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701). You can now drop off original permits for permit transfers. Envelopes with information labels will be provided so that your documents can be attached to the correct application. The mailbox will be checked daily. For more information contact the Permits Office at 877-376-4877.

Other contacts:

Media: Allison Garrett, 727-551-5750

Recreational Fishing Coordinator: Sean Meehan, 727-385-5202