An interim rule was put into place at the beginning of 2011 that set the recreational bag limit for gag at zero in federal waters. This rule was put into place to temporarily end overfishing while management options for the future harvest and rebuilding of gag were developed and implemented in Reef Fish Amendment 32.
Because amendment 32 will not be implemented until 2012, the Council has finalized a new interim rule. If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, the new rule will set the 2011 recreational gag season to begin at 12:00 a.m. on September 16th and closes at 11:59 p.m. on November 15th.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission approved its own rule amendment that will align Florida state regulations with the proposed federal interim rule beginning June 1. Fishing for gag grouper in state waters will remain open until June 1.
