The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will meet October 23-26, 2023 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Panama City Beach, Florida. The agenda, meeting materials, and link to register for the webinar can all be found on our council meeting webpage. Public testimony will be held on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, from 2:00 – 5:00 pm central time. The following is a quick description of the issues the Council plans to take final action on during this meeting:
Commercial Electronic Reporting
The Council will hear public comment and take final action on a joint amendment with the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council that considers requiring commercial reef fish and coastal migratory pelagic permit holders to submit logbooks electronically, rather than mailing paper logbooks.
Watch the public hearing video
Greater Amberjack
The Council will hear pu
blic comment and take final action on a Framework Action that considers modifying the recreational closed season and the commercial trip limit for greater amberjack. These changes are being considered to ensure that harvest is constrained to catch limits that were recently set to allow the greater amberjack stock to rebuild by 2027. The current preferred alternatives would modify the recreational season to open September 1 and remain open until October 31, or when the annual catch target is expected to be met, and create a 7-fish commercial trip limit.
Watch the public hearing video
For-Hire Data Collection
The Council plans to appoint members to its newly created Ad Hoc For-Hire Advisory Panel that was created to advise the Council as it works on a document that will consider establishing a for-hire data collection program to replace the Southeast For-H
ire Integrated Electronic Reporting Program (SEFHIER). The Panel will be charged with providing Gulf-wide stakeholder insight on the development of a new electronic data collection program for the charter for-hire and headboat fishing industry.