FAQs

  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?

  5.    What does a Fishery Management Plan do?

A Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Plan provides the basis for management of a fishery resource in the Gulf of Mexico’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The EEZ begins at the outer limit of state jurisdiction and extends 200 miles from shore. A plan or amendment to a plan regulates the amount of fish that are harvested in order to maintain the best interest of the people of the United States. The proposed management measures become federal regulations when implemented by the Secretary of Commerce. The plan is enforced by  the U.S. Coast Guard, enforcement agents from the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Gulf states. Implemented plans and regulations are reviewed annually and may be updated or modified after  public review to accommodate changing conditions and needs.

  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?