Scientific Name
Scomberomorus maculatus
Stock Status
Overfishing – No
Overfished – No
Stock Assessment
2023 Regulations
Note: To monitor the Annual Catch Limit, the fishing year is April 1 – March 31.
| Recreational | Commercial | ||
| Season | Open year-round. If landings reach the stock ACL, harvest will be prohibited for the remainder of the fishing year. | Season | Open year-round. If landings reach the stock ACL, harvest will be prohibited for the remainder of the fishing year. |
| Minimum Size Limit | 12 inches fork length | Minimum Size Limit | 12 inches fork length except a vessel fishing under a quota for Spanish mackerel may possess no more than 5%, by weight, of undersized Spanish mackerel. Cut-off (damaged) Spanish mackerel that comply with minimum size limits and trip limits may be possessed on vessels operating under trip limits and sold. |
| Bag Limit | 15 | Trip Limit | none |
| 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. |
| NOTE | Sale of recreational bag limit of Spanish 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 Spanish mackerel. Spanish mackerel harvested in a state-permitted tournament may not be sold for profit, but may be donated to a permitted dealer. | Gear | All authorized gear permitted except drift gillnet, long gillnet, and purse seine. The minimum allowable mesh size for gillnet used for Spanish mackerel in the Gulf is 3.5 inches. |
Harvest Limits
| Sector | Annual Catch Limit |
| Stock | 11,300,000 pounds |