Red Grouper

NOAA Fisheries and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council manage the red grouper fishery along the US Atlantic. Red grouper are managed under the Snapper-Grouper Fishery Management Plan (FMP) along with several other south Atlantic species. Implemented in 1983, the Snapper-Grouper FMP was established to end historic overfishing of red and other grouper species. The plan and its amendments include numerous measures to rebuild current populations. Among those measures are:

• Limiting the number of available permits (both transferable and nontransferable) available to commercial fishers
• Establishing annual catch limits for both commercial and recreational fishers
• Closing the fishery once annual quotas are projected to be met
• Commercial and recreational size limits to reduce harvest of immature grouper
• Seasonal closures from January to April to protect spawning aggregations
• Gear restrictions to protect habitat and reduce bycatch
• Eight deep-water marine protected areas closed to fishing and possession of snapper and grouper

According to a 2010 stock assessment, South Atlantic red grouper are not overfished, nor subject to overfishing – though current populations are below target levels. The life history of the species (slow-growing, late-maturing, and long-lived) means that rebuilding plans for some grouper species can take years to accomplish. There is also a lack of basic management data such as quantitative stock assessments and discard rates for many species in the Snapper-Grouper FMP – further limiting rebuilding efforts.

NOAA Fisheries and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council manage the red grouper fishery in the US Gulf of Mexico under the Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). US commercial production of grouper is dominated by the Gulf Coast and in 2011, the US Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish fishery landed more than nine times the amount of grouper as compared to the US South Atlantic – largely due to the high landings of red grouper in the gulf. 

Established in 1984, the Reef Fish FMP and its amendments were designed to end historic overfishing for shallow water groupers and to rebuild populations. The plan:

• Allocates an annual catch limit between commercial (76 percent) and recreational (24 percent) fishers
• Restricts certain gear types to reduce bycatch
• Sets minimum size restrictions to protect immature red grouper
• Establishes year round and seasonal area closures for both commercial and recreational fishers to protect spawning stock and essential fish habitat

The FMP also institutes a permit system in which commercial vessels must have a reef fish permit and an individual fishing quota (IFQ) to harvest red grouper in the Gulf of Mexico. The IFQ program allocates shares of the total commercial catch limit amongst individual fishers. Under the program, each fisher owns a share of the quota and can chose to fish it at anytime during the open season. Strict commercial reporting requirements prevent fishers from harvesting more than their individual allocation.

The Reef Fish FMP has been a success in allowing red grouper populations to bounce back from overfishing that had occurred on and off in the Gulf since the 1970s. In 2007 the Gulf of Mexico red grouper fishery was officially considered rebuilt. A 2016 stock assessment, based on 2012 catch data, determined that the species is not overfished nor subject to overfishing.