FishWatch

Harvesting Red Grouper

Commercial fishermen mainly use hook-and-line gear, including longlines and handlines, to harvest red grouper. Sea turtles and other reef fishes, such as snappers and groupers, can be incidentally caught while fishing for red grouper. Management prohibits the use of trawl gear, fish traps, and bottom longlines (in some areas) in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico to reduce bycatch, and several areas are also closed to all fishing to protect snappers and groupers. In certain areas of the South Atlantic and throughout the Gulf of Mexico, fishermen are required to use circle hooks and dehooking devices to improve the chance of survival of any unintentionally caught fish. In the Gulf of Mexico, they’re also required to use venting tools when necessary. (When reef fish are brought quickly to the surface by hook-and-line, the gas in their swimbladders can overexpand. Venting tools help deflate the expanded abdominal cavity, preventing serious injury to the fish and making it easier for them to return to deep water.) Commercial and charterboat/headboat reef fish fishermen must use appropriate release gear and follow handling protocols to increase the chance of survival of any incidentally caught sea turtles.

Management

Who’s in charge? NOAA Fisheries and the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils

Current management:

South Atlantic: Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region

• Commercial fishermen must have a permit to fish, land, or sell snapper-grouper species. Managers limit the number of available permits to control the number of fishermen harvesting these species.
• Annual catch limits for red grouper for the commercial and recreational fisheries; these fisheries are closed when their annual catch limit is projected to be met.
• A minimum size limit to reduce harvest of immature red grouper.
• Gear restrictions to reduce bycatch and protect habitat.
• Eight “marine protected areas” are closed to fishing for and possession of snapper and grouper to protect a portion of the population and habitat of long-lived deepwater snapper-grouper species.
• An area known as the Oculina Experimental Closed Area off the east coast of Florida is closed to fishing for and possession of all snappers and groupers to protect deepwater coral habitat and the reef fish it supports.
• Both the commercial and recreational fishing seasons are closed from January through April to protect all shallow water grouper during their spawning season.
• NOAA Fisheries recently implemented a rebuilding plan for red grouper in the South Atlantic. The rebuilding plan outlines how management measures will increase the red grouper population of fish within a certain time frame.

Gulf of Mexico: Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan

• Commercial vessels must have appropriate permits to harvest red grouper.
• Annual catch limit allocated between the commercial (76 percent) and recreational (24 percent) fisheries.
• Individual fishing quota program, which allocates the commercial catch limit among individual fishermen. Fishermen may harvest their allocation whenever they choose to do so and must report how much they harvest. This program includes controls that do not allow fishermen to harvest more than their individual allocation.
• Restrictions on the type of gear fishermen may use and where they can fish, to reduce bycatch.
• Minimum size limit to protect immature red grouper.
• Year-round and season area closures for both commercial and recreational sectors to protect spawning groupers.
• Commercial data reporting requirements.

State fisheries management agencies generally have compatible regulations for fisheries operating in state waters (out to 3 miles in the South Atlantic and out to 9 miles in the Gulf of Mexico).

Annual Harvest

Most commercial harvest of red grouper comes from the Gulf of Mexico. The 2010 commercial harvest in the Gulf totaled nearly 3.5 million pounds in 2010, and was mainly caught off the west coast of Florida. Harvests in the South Atlantic have remained lower than in the Gulf of Mexico. The 2010 South Atlantic harvest was 313,380 pounds, mainly caught off North Carolina and South Carolina.

Economy

Red grouper is highly valued for its flavor and size. The 2010 domestic commercial harvest was valued at nearly $10 million. The United States also imports grouper, mainly from Mexico.

Recreational

Red grouper is a popular fish among recreational fishermen in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, and a portion of the total allowable catch is allocated to the recreational fisheries in these areas. Recreational fisheries for red grouper are managed through permits and licenses, catch limits, size limits, bag limits, and seasonal and special closures. For example, red grouper must be equal to or larger than a minimum size to be landed, and fishermen may not catch more red grouper than the bag limit allows. Annually, the South Atlantic recreational and commercial fisheries are closed during the January – April spawning season, and the Gulf of Mexico recreational fishery is closed during the February – March spawning season. Measures are in place to ensure catch limits are not exceeded, and if limits are exceeded the fishery may be closed or the catch limit may be reduced the following year.