NOAA raises 2026 Gulf red grouper commercial quota to 4.28m pounds
NOAA has raised the Gulf red grouper commercial quota to 4.28m pounds for 2026, up from 2.79m pounds under the prior rule.
The change takes effect immediately.
The final rule moves the allocation to 68.2 percent commercial and 31.8 percent recreational. It also sets commercial quotas of 4.83m pounds in 2027 and 5.37m pounds from 2028. The recreational annual catch target rises to 1.92m pounds this year, 2.16m in 2027 and 2.39m from 2028.
NOAA also removes the February through March shallow-water grouper recreational closure seaward of the 20-fathom boundary. The agency says overlapping closures mean red grouper is the species materially affected by 2027.
The old and new catch limits are not directly comparable because NOAA used updated recreational fishing data. The agency says the stock is neither overfished nor subject to overfishing.
