FAQs

1. What is the function of the Gulf Council?

2. How are members of the Council chosen?

3. What are the considerations involved in a fishery management plan?

4. Who advises the Council on developing fishery management plans?  For each management plan there is an Advisory Panel (AP) made up of users of fishery resources. Advisory Panels include recreational and commercial fishermen, buyers, sellers, and consumers. There is also a Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) made up of scientists who are experts in  technical aspects of these fish or resources.  In addition, the Council has access to scientific data and advice from state and federal scientific research findings.  After a draft fishery management plan or amendment has been prepared, it is presented at public hearings throughout the Gulf Coast for additional public input.

5. What does a Fishery Management Plan do?

6. Where may one review a proposed Fishery Management Plan for the Gulf of Mexico?

7. May a fisherman on a vessel with a commercial Reef Fish permit retain the recreational bag limit of a reef fish species when the commercial season or quota is closed?

8. May a recreational fisherman possess more than the daily bag limit if away from the dock for more than one day?

9. May a commercial fisherman retain a bag limit of reef fish as well as the allowed commercial quantity (applies when there is a commercial trip limit such as for red snapper or grouper)?

10. May a recreational fisherman possess both a federal and state bag limit of reef fish?

11. How does the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) process work?

12. What is the intercouncil boundary between the South Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico?