Next week the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is scheduled to take final action on a plan to allow open-water aquaculture in the gulf. The federal regulatory agency, historically dominated by commercial fishing interests, is playing Russian roulette with our coastal fisheries. ...more

January 24, 2009

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is moving toward cutting harvest of reef fish yet again, with recent preliminary approval of a ruling that would drop the overall Gulf grouper limit to four fish, only two of which could be gags. Two red grouper also would be allowed in the new limits, rather than the one currently permitted, and the season would be closed Feb. 1 to March 31 during the prime spawning season offshore. ...more

June 18, 2008

As of today, anglers fishing for grouper, snapper and other reef species in the Gulf of Mexico are required to follow a new set of rules regarding how they fish, and how they release the fish they catch. The rules, put in place by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, are aimed at improving survival of released fish. ...more

June 1, 2008

or, it opened April 15, depending on which group of lawmakers and law enforcers you ask. ...more

May 30, 2008

The sleeping giant is again awakening. This time, it is reef anglers rising up to challenge government regulators who are making rules that fishermen say are unnecessary and based on false premises. ...more

February 10, 2008

So much for public input. Despite testimony from dozens of offshore skippers who, without exception, reported gag grouper numbers at very high levels, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council last week voted to tighten harvest regulations on the popular reef species. Grouper harvest would be shut down from Jan. 15 to April 15, and the bag limit dropped from five fish to one if the rule gets final approval this spring. The overall grouper bag limit would drop to three fish of all species. ...more

February 3, 2008

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will hold a meeting next week in St. Petersburg, and one of the items on the agenda is review of possible cuts in the gag grouper catch for both commercial and recreational fishermen. ...more

January 20, 2008

An innovative regulatory system has not only stopped the overfishing of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico but made allies of commercial fishermen and environmentalists. ...more

January 12, 2008

Amberjack used to be the 'easy' big game fish, with clouds of the huge, muscular fighters found around every offshore wreck. 'AJs' as they are affectionately known to many anglers, have a reputation of being pound-for-pound one of the strongest fish in offshore waters. And until the mid-1980s they were abundant to a fault. There were often so many of them around some wrecks and reefs that getting a live bait past them to catch a big gag or red grouper was a real struggle. AJs of 30 to 40 pounds were common, and occasionally were decked at double that size - a nice 'problem' to have. ...more

September 9, 2007