June 2025 Council Meeting Summary

The Gulf Council (Council) met in Tampa, Florida on June 3-4, 2025. The Council presented the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Trident Team with the 2024 Law Enforcement Team of the Year Award. During the meeting the Council honored outgoing members Dr. Tom Frazer and Troy Williamson. The following is a summary of the issues addressed during the meeting:

Spanish Mackerel

The Council took final action to modify Spanish mackerel catch limits and accountability measures. The Council decided to reduce catch limits based on results of the most recent stock assessment and resulting advice from the Scientific and Statistical Committee. The newly recommended stock annual catch limit will be 9,630,000 pounds landed weight. The Council also chose to modify the accountability measure by only allowing the Regional Administrator closure authority for commercial and recreational fishing if the stock annual catch limit was exceeded in the previous fishing year and the stock ACL is reached or projected to be reached. This Framework Amendment will be transmitted to the Secretary of Commerce for consideration and implementation as soon as practicable.

Shallow-Water Grouper

Framework to Modify Catch Limits and Management Measures

The Council took final action on a framework action to modify the catch limit and recreational season for the Shallow-Water Grouper complex which is comprised of scamp, yellowmouth grouper, black grouper, and yellowfin grouper based on the results of the SEDAR 68 stock assessment. The Council selected the least conservative alternative to reduce the shallow-water grouper complex catch limit by 54.7%, resulting in an annual catch limit equal to 322,000 pounds gutted weight. The Council also decided to open the recreational season on July 1 through December 31.

This is a short-term management measure until Reef Fish Amendment 58A can be developed. Reef Fish Amendment 58A considers splitting the species in complex and tailoring management measures to individual species. This Framework Action will be transmitted to the Secretary of Commerce for consideration and implementation as soon as practicable.

Reef Fish Amendment 58A

Reef Fish Amendment 58A considers splitting the shallow-water grouper complex into two sub-complexes. One would be comprised of scamp and yellowmouth grouper, and the other would be comprised of black grouper and yellowfin grouper. This would allow management measures to be tailored to each sub-complex. The Council heard updated projections for scamp and yellowmouth grouper that used finalized recreational and commercial landings data through 2023. The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee continued its recommendation of using a maximum sustainable yield equal to the yield at F40%SPR based on the life history of both scamp and yellowmouth grouper, which transition from female to male as they age and demonstrate less reproductive resiliency relative to other reef fish. The updated projections would result in an acceptable biological catch limit for scamp and yellowmouth grouper of 183,000 pounds gutted weight for 2027-2031. The Council reviewed actions and alternatives in the document and plans to continue work during its August meeting.

2025 Recreational Gag Season

NOAA Fisheries presented the Council with 2025 recreational season projections for gag grouper. In 2024, the recreational sector landed an estimated 252,367 pounds of gag in 16-days, which was 88,991 pounds over the 2024 recreational annual catch limit. That overage is subtracted from the scheduled 2025 annual catch limit, resulting in a 310,009 pounds catch limit for this year. While no season was announced, based on 2024 catch rates that would allow for a 14-day season and based on the average of 2023 and 2024 catch rates, the season would be 20-days. NOAA noted that it may not reduce the gag bag limit using an emergency rule, as recommended by the Council, and committed to officially announcing the season and bag limit as soon as practicable.

Executive Orders Unleashing Prosperity through Deregulation and Restoring American Seafood Completeness

The Council heard an overview of recent Executive Orders. E.O. 14276: “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness” directs the Council to develop a prioritized list of recommended actions to reduce burdens on domestic fishing and increase production. E.O. 14192: “Unleashing Prosperity through Deregulation” instructs the Council to update a list of deregulatory recommendations and develop a work plan and implementation schedule with the goals of stabilizing markets, improving access, enhancing profitability, and preventing fishery closures. The Council developed an initial list of items that could satisfy the Executive Orders and plans to finalize a prioritized list of recommendations during its August meeting after gathering input from its Advisory Panels and the public.

Deep-Water Grouper

The deep-water grouper complex is comprised of warsaw grouper, snowy grouper, yellowedge grouper, and speckled hind, and is currently managed with a single annual catch limit for the complex. The most recent stock assessment on yellowedge grouper (SEDAR 85) determined that while yellowedge grouper is not overfished, it is experiencing overfishing. Based on the stock assessment results, which indicated low recent recruitment and increased recreational harvest, the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) recommended an overall decrease in the allowable harvest to end overfishing. While yellowedge grouper is the most commonly landed species in the deep-water grouper complex, it is frequently caught with the other deep-water grouper species. Thus, the SSC also recommended updated catch limits based on average historical landings for the other three species in the complex, and that the catch limits for those species and yellowedge grouper be combined.

In a previous meeting, the Council selected a preferred alternative that would establish catch limits for the complex based on the SSC’s recommendations. This would result in an annual catch limit for the complex of 555,026 pounds gutted weight, which represents approximately a 50% reduction in allowable harvest. The Council also previously selected a preferred alternative that will trigger a reduction in the recreational season if average recreational landings exceed the average recreational and total complex annual catch limit over a 3-year period.

During this meeting, the Council selected a preferred alternative that would establish a recreational annual catch limit and sector allocations using the most recent 5 years of landings. This would allocate 10.21% to the recreational sector and 89.79% to the commercial sector. The Council will gather public input at three in-person and one virtual hearing before taking final action during its August 2025 meeting.

Red Grouper

NOAA Fisheries announced that it is working on an emergency rule that was requested by the Council to increase red grouper catch limits. The 2025 catch limits would be set based on 90% of the acceptable biological catch limit recommended by the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee after its review of updated red grouper projections, which were based on the most recent red grouper stock assessment. NOAA indicated that no recreational red grouper closure is expected for 2025 as long as the emergency rule is approved by the Secretary of Commerce.

The Council began work on a Reef Fish Amendment that addresses catch limits and allocations in response to the most recent stock assessment for red grouper (SEDAR 88) and resulting catch limit recommendations. The amendment also considers eliminating the recreational 20-fathom shallow-water grouper closure. The Council added an alternative that would consider increasing the red grouper catch limit increases incrementally, rather than all at once. The Council plans to continue work on this document and expects to take final action in January of 2026 after it gathers public comment.

Ecosystem Based Fishery Management

The Council heard an update on progress made on its Gulf Fishery Ecosystem Plan and an update on the related Inflation Reduction Act projects. The Council also heard a summary of the approach for its pilot fishery ecosystem issue of red tide, as well as recommendations from its Ecosystem Technical Committee. The Council will continue to work on the red tide fishery ecosystem issue and incorporating red tide research into management as appropriate.

About The Gulf Council

The Gulf Council is one of eight regional Fishery Management Councils established by the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. The Council prepares fishery management plans, which are designed to manage fishery resources within the 200-mile limit of the Gulf of America.