Gulf red grouper catch limits rise under Amendment 62, effective Oct. 2

Gulf red grouper catch limits are up. A National Marine Fisheries Service final rule implementing Amendment 62 to the Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan is effective Oct. 2, 2026. The Federal Register publication is scheduled for Oct. 6. The rule revises status determination criteria, sets a more conservative maximum-sustainable-yield proxy at F40%SPR, and phases in higher catch limits after the SEDAR 88 assessment found the stock larger than the last assessment and neither overfished nor undergoing overfishing.

All weights are gutted. The overfishing limit is 10.64 million pounds and the acceptable biological catch is 8.28 million pounds. The total annual catch limit is 6.62 million pounds in 2026 (80 percent of the ABC), 7.45 million in 2027, and 8.28 million in 2028 and after. The commercial share is 68.2 percent and the recreational share is 31.8 percent, using Florida’s State Reef Fish Survey in place of the old recreational data set. For 2026 the commercial ACL is 4.51 million pounds and the commercial quota is 4.28 million. The recreational ACL is 2.11 million pounds and the recreational annual catch target is 1.92 million.

The same rule removes the Feb. 1–March 31 recreational closure for shallow-water grouper in federal waters seaward of the 20-fathom line. NMFS says that, beginning in 2027, red grouper is the only shallow-water grouper that change actually opens: gag stays closed January through August, and black grouper, scamp, yellowmouth grouper, and yellowfin grouper pick up a January–June closure. Questions go to Daniel Luers at the Southeast Regional Office, (727) 824-5305. This is the Gulf federal rule, not the Florida gag closure already on the desk.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Federal Register public inspection — Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of America; Amendment 62 (final rule effective Oct. 2, 2026; document 2026-20435). Also: NOAA Fisheries — Amendment 62.