NOAA Fisheries Service has published a final rule implementing increases in the commercial and recreational quotas of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. A recent red snapper assessment update projected overfishing ended in 2009, and therefore, the total allowable catch (TAC) can be increased. The final rule publishes in the Federal Register on May 3, 2010, and will become effective June 2, 2010.
The final rule also sets the length of 2010 recreational season, which opens 12:01 a.m., June 1, and closes at 12:01 a.m. on July 24. The closure date is defined as July 23. For more information on how the red snapper season length was calculated, refer to a document titled "2010 Recreational Red Snapper Quota Closure Analysis" located on the Southeast Regional Office's Web page (see below).
Copies of the final rule are available by contacting NOAA Fisheries Service's Southeast Regional Office at 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701. The final rule can be obtained in electronic form from the Federal Register Web site:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html (use advanced search for final rules using "AY57" as a keyword).
