What fish can you catch in the Gulf? Anglers upset with open season mixed messaging

Our fisheries management is a mess.

In January, news spread that counts of gag grouper landings from 2023 were far off from estimated reports. Opening Sept. 1 and closing Oct. 19, the extremely short season closed early when catch limits of 403,759 pounds were projected to be met.

When the breakdown of the numbers was shared, some 106,602 pounds were estimated to be landed… from shore. Anyone who fishes for gag grouper knows that while possible, catching them legal size consistently would mean heading offshore to deeper waters they frequent more often.

After releasing corrected estimates that showed less grouper were caught than thought, no seasonal extension was issued.

Now after an extremely windy start to 2024, the also heavily regulated red grouper season will be coming to a close early on June 30, nearly a month earlier than last year when it also closed early.

“NOAA just announced that recreational red grouper will close on June 30th this year,” the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “If landings don’t meet the annual catch target by then, a supplemental season could be open later in the year.”

Responding to the post, anglers voiced their displeasure as many want to see red grouper season remain open.

“There is zero shortage of RED GROUPER!” Matthew, an angler from Ocala said.

“Will the shore-based landing numbers be similar to Gag Grouper?” said Brent from St. Petersburg.

“Has anyone done the math on how many fishable days we actually have had in the year 2024?” asked angler Veto from Ft. Myers. “It’s got to be less than 15 with no great wind and wave opportunities in the near future.”

In my attempts to find any official press release, I found only separate information that shows a great need for clarification in our fisheries. Anglers who may not fish often can easily be confused with so many different places to check what is in season.

“Open year-round,” states the FWC in regard to red grouper in state waters.

“Closed February 01 - March 31,” says the Gulf Council website, which isn’t accurate as it’s only closed beyond 20 fathoms in those months.

When will they each update to coincide with the social media announcement?

And while gag grouper may open Sept. 1 later this year, it certainly will close early again.

And then there is amberjack. I used to think I knew when seasons were open for amberjack, but I haven’t kept one in years as they open in August when grouper and red snapper seasons are closed. It’s also the time of year they are the deepest, meaning long runs offshore while other snapper and grouper species are closed.

“Gulf of Mexico Greater Amberjack Recreational Fishing Season Reopens May 1-31, 2024,” states the NOAA fisheries website. Does this mean that the season is open? While it may appear as such, I’m not sure.

“Therefore, the recreational fishing season will reopen May 1, 2024. The recreational fishing season for greater amberjack will close again during its second seasonal closure, starting June 1, 2024.”

But the Gulf Council website says amberjacks are listed as closed Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, and then it says the season is closed from June 1 to Aug. 31, with overlapping dates.

FWC? It says amberjack are closed until Aug. 1, 2024. Three different government sites, all with different dates listed for the same species. The fish rules app, which is suggested to be used by FWC, states amberjack will open sometime after August.

Anglers are expected to follow rules to a T but aren’t given information that is easy to follow along or possibly even accurate. The system isn’t working as it currently stands.

This is without mentioning we are less than two months away from when most start heading offshore for red snapper, and a date hasn’t even been announced. It appears that may open June 8.

I know the days of a one year printout are gone, but the system needs to be better. Anglers don’t currently trust the data, and the data is used to determine what can be kept. We can only hope that in the future fish stocks are good while fishing days remain open.