Scientific Name
Scomberomorus cavalla
Common Name
Kingfish
Stock Status
Overfishing – No
Overfished – No
Stock Assessment
2023 Regulations
| Recreational | Commercial | ||
| Season | Open year-round. If landings reach the recreational quota, harvest will be prohibited for the remainder of the fishing year. | Season | Varies according to zone. See list below. |
| Minimum Size Limit | 24 inches fork length | Minimum Size Limit | 24 inches fork length except a vessel fishing under a quota for king mackerel may possess no more than 5%, by weight, of undersized king mackerel. Cut-off (damaged) king mackerel that comply with minimum size limits and trip limits may be possessed on vessels operating under trip limits and sold. A maximum of five additional cut-off king mackerel not subject to size or trip limits may be possessed and offloaded but may not be sold. |
| Bag Limit | 3 | Trip Limit | Varies according to Zone. See list below. |
| Permit | State issued recreational license/angler registry, federal angler registry or Federal Charter/Headboat License for Coastal Migratory Pelagics | Permit |
Commercial vessel permit for Spanish mackerel is required. A king mackerel gillnet permit is also required for participation in the Southern Zone Gillnet fishery.
|
| NOTE | Sale of recreational bag limit of king mackerel permitted when harvested on board a vessel operating as a for-hire vessel that possesses both Federal charter/headboat permit for coastal migratory pelagics and commercial permit for king mackerel. | Gear | Hook and line gear and run-around gillnet with mesh no smaller than 4.75 inches permit in the southern zone. Incidental catch allowances for purse sein and shark gillnet. |
Commercial Zones
Southern Zone:
Gillnet
-
- Quota – 653,184 pounds
- Closed – 12 p.m., local time, on March 2, 2022
- Season – opens at 6:00 a.m. the day after the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday. Open the first weekend and remains open on weekdays only until the quota is met.
- Trip limit – 45,000 pounds
Hook and Line
-
- Quota – 653,184 pounds
- Season – Open July 1 – June 30. If landings reach the quota, harvest will be prohibited for the remainder of the fishing year.
- Trip limit – 1,250
Northern Zone:
-
- Quota – 559,872 pounds
- Season – Open October 1 – September 30. If landings reach the quota, harvest will be prohibited for the remainder of the fishing year.
- Trip limit – 1,250 pounds
Western Zone:
-
- Quota – 1,244,160 pounds
- Season – Open July 1 – June 30. If landings reach the quota, harvest will be prohibited for the remainder of the fishing year.
- Trip Limit – 3,000 pounds
A vessel with a valid commercial king mackerel permit may transit through areas closed to harvest of king mackerel with king mackerel onboard if fishing gear is properly stowed.
Harvest Limits
| Sector | 2022/2023 Annual Catch Limit |
| Stock | 9,720,000 pounds |
| Commercial | 3,110,400 pounds |
| Recreational | 6,609,600 pounds |
Allocation
