SERO NR98-056

Contact: Chris Smith                   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
         Public Affairs Officer        October 7, 1998 

Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico have been closed to recreational red snapper fishing since midnight on Sept. 30, 1998, and will remain so until January 1, 1999. National Marine Fisheries Service Enforcement will aggressively investigate complaints of recreational fishermen unlawfully harvesting red snapper in federal waters during the closure. Red snapper are severely overfished but are recovering under strict management measures mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1996.

Commercial fishermen have been permitted to land red snapper during October because they had not landed their full quota when the September season closed.

"As of October first there was still about one million pounds of the commercial portion of the total allowable catch remaining to be landed," said James Weaver, chief of NMFS' Southeast Regional Sustainable Fisheries Division. "Once the commercial fishery lands the remainder of its quota, legal commercial fishing will cease until Feb. 1, 1999."

"These measures are absolutely necessary to ensure that the recovery of the Gulf's red snapper stock continues. We recognize that this action has social and economic impact, but we are bound by the law to close this fishery to prevent overfishing when the best available science indicates that the respective quotas have been landed," said Andrew Kemmerer, administrator of NMFS' Southeast Region.

"Our agents will work closely with the Coast Guard and appropriate state enforcement agencies to ensure that poachers are apprehended. I've also urged NOAA's Office of General Counsel to vigorously prosecute all violations and assess the maximum penalties permitted under the law," concluded Kemmerer.

According to NOAA's Office of General Counsel, first time violators could face monetary penalties ranging from $100 to $5,000, depending on the nature of the offense, for harvesting or possessing red snapper in or from federal waters.

NMFS is an agency of the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The agency conducts scientific research, marine fisheries management, trade and industry assistance, law enforcement, and protected species and habitat conservation.

This and other NMFS Southeast Regional news releases are available on the regional Internet home page at http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov .