Gulf Red Grouper Remains Open

It’s legal to keep red grouper in the Gulf, but releasing one like this—with obvious signs of barotrauma—requires a descending device. Phil Hollandsworth

There’s good news for Gulf grouper anglers. On Aug. 6, an emergency rule went into effect that should keep Gulf red grouper season open through the end of the year.

At the official request of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, NOAA Fisheries increased the total allowable catch for 2025 based on the latest stock assessment for red grouper. The emergency rule negated an expected July closure for the fishery.

Red grouper are primarily a target for anglers off the west coast of Florida. They are managed under a two-per-person daily (four in aggregate) limit with a 20-inch total length minimum size limit. Prior to the emergency rule, red grouper was expected to close in July when the allotted was quota was met. The most recent stock assessment indicated, however, that the species’ catch limit could be increased substantially without harming the population.

“Red grouper are pretty Florida centric, not really gulf wide, but they are seeing them more now in the panhandle and into Alabama more than ever,” said Capt. Dylan Hubbard, of Hubbard’s Marina in Madeira Beach, Florida. “(Hurricanes) Helene and Milton pushed a lot of fish up that way. And, according to the latest stock assessment, biomass expanded greatly, so they are seeing age 1 to 3 fish in areas they haven’t in the past.”

Red grouper are a popular target for recreational anglers, especially off Florida’s Gulf coast. Phil Hollandsworth Lobbying for an Increased Grouper Limit

Hubbard doesn’t just own a marina and fish, he is also very involved in the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. He serves as chair on three advisory panels (AP) for the Gulf Council as well as some other roles and was one of the people pushing hard to get the ball rolling on the emergency rule.

“NOAA has used emergency rules to open fisheries. I did research and found this precedence and pushed the red grouper emergency rule in our march reef fish AP meeting,” he said. “And since I am the chair, I worked with members to get that motion set up and passed.”

The motion Hubbard lobbied for was a recommendation from the Gulf Council to NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service to issue an emergency rule as soon as possible to increase the annual catch limit. Meanwhile, the Gulf Council is working on permanent measures to increase red grouper catch limits.

Of note in the most recent stock assessment was the use of Florida’s State Reef Fisheries Survey as a part of the data collection for private recreational anglers. Florida’s survey estimated lower recreational landings of red grouper than the federal data collection survey used for prior stock assessments. The Gulf Council indicated that using Florida’s numbers was appropriate since 95 percent of the red grouper catch occurs in Florida.

Based on the estimates, Gulf red grouper should remain open through the end of the year. However, if landings reach, or are projected to reach, the new recreational annual catch limit before the end of the year, NOAA Fisheries will file a notification to close the recreational sector.

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