NOAA Fisheries announces changes to management of red snapper in the South Atlantic through a final rule for Amendment 59 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region.

• Amendment 59 was developed by NOAA Fisheries on the Secretary’s behalf under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and is based on the latest population assessment for South Atlantic red snapper which determined the population is undergoing overfishing, not overfished, but not yet rebuilt.
• Amendment 59 and the final rule modify management of South Atlantic red snapper by revising the overfishing limit, acceptable biological catch, annual catch limits, and the proxy for determining red snapper overfishing.
• During development of Amendment 59, NOAA Fisheries held multiple in-person hearings and received extensive comments during the public comment period; most of which opposed all or part of a discard reduction season proposed in the draft amendment to increase commercial and recreational red snapper catch limits and the recreational fishing season length.
• In response to this input, and because a new red snapper stock assessment is underway, which will take into account the results of the South Atlantic Red Snapper Research Program and other new information about the red snapper stock, NOAA Fisheries removed the discard reduction area closure and several other proposed actions from further consideration.
• This will provide the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council another opportunity to consider other management measures to reduce dead discards and increase red snapper fishing opportunities in a future amendment through an open, public process.
• The final rule also announces that the commercial sector will open on July 14, 2025, and will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on January 1, 2026, unless the commercial catch limit is met or projected to be met before this date. The recreational sector will open for two days on July 11 and 12, 2025.

When Rule Will Take Effect:

The final rule is scheduled to publish on June 11, 2025. Regulations will be effective 30 days after the final rule publishes.

What This Means:

Amendment 59 and the Final Rule

• NOAA Fisheries developed Amendment 59 on the Secretary’s behalf to comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and a court order because the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council failed to develop and submit, after a reasonable period of time, needed conservation and management measures to end and prevent overfishing of the South Atlantic red snapper population, as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
• The changes implemented through Amendment 59 are based on an update of the 2021 SEDAR 73 population assessment, which includes data through 2023.
• Amendment 59 specifies an overfishing limit of 551,000 fish, an acceptable biological catch of 509,000 fish, and a total annual catch limit equal to 509,000 fish; all of which include both landings and discards.
• The landed catch limits specified by this final rule include a commercial annual catch limit of 102,951 pounds whole weight, and a recreational annual catch limit of 22,797 fish (equivalent to 263,815 pounds whole weight).
• Amendment 59 revises the proxy used to determine if red snapper is undergoing overfishing from a fixed value to a more flexible definition that reflects the best scientific information available at the time an overfishing determination is made.

2025 Red Snapper Fishing Seasons

• The commercial sector will open for harvest at 12:01 a.m., local time, on July 14, 2025, and will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on January 1, 2026, unless the commercial catch limit is met or projected to be met before this date.
• The recreational sector will open for harvest for two days – at 12:01 a.m., local time, on July 11, 2025, through 12:01 a.m., local time, on July 13, 2025.
• The commercial and recreational season lengths for the 2025 fishing year are determined using the revised sector ACLs in this final rule.

Amendment 59 can be found on our website here: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/amendment-59-fishery-management-plan-snapper-grouper-fishery-south-atlantic-region.