What/When:

• The 2025 recreational fishing season for gag in federal waters of the South Atlantic will start at 12:01 a.m., (local time), on May 1, 2025, and end at 12:01 a.m., (local time) on June 26, 2025.
• NOAA Fisheries estimates that recreational landings during the 2025 fishing season will reach the 2025 recreational annual catch limit of 176,665 pounds gutted weight by June 26, 2025.
• Recreational harvest for the 2026 fishing year in South Atlantic federal waters will open at 12:01 a.m., (local time), on May 1, 2026, unless otherwise specified.

Why This Announcement is Happening:

• NOAA Fisheries must reduce the length of the 2025 season because recreational landings in 2024 exceeded the 2024 recreational annual catch limit.
• NOAA Fisheries must reduce the season by the amount necessary to prevent the recreational annual catch limit from being exceeded in 2025.
• The requirements to reduce the season were effective on October 23, 2023, through the final rule to implement Amendment 53 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region.
• The final rule also reduced the annual catch limits for gag to end overfishing and rebuild the stock.

This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations. Full regulations can be found in the Code of Federal Regulations at 50 CFR part 622 or at https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-50/chapter-VI/part-622/subpart-I/.