NOAA Increases Shark Retention Limits in the Gulf of Mexico

NOAA Fisheries increased the retention limits of large sharks in the Gulf of Mexico through the end of 2021. As of August 24th, fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico who operate under Shark Directed Limit Access Permits may retain up to 55 large coastal sharks per vessel per trip. Large coastal sharks (LCS) do not include sandbar sharks, but do include hammerhead and blacktips. This change increases retention from the previous limit of 45 LCS by an additional 10 per vessel per trip. In the Eastern Gulf of Mexico sub-region, this increase applies to sharks within the LCS, hammerhead

FWC Announces Blackfin Tuna Recreational Limit

In July, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) drafted a proposal to create a recreational limit for blackfin tuna in Florida and the surrounding federal waters. In it’s October meeting, the proposal was finally voted on and approved. This new regulation changes only slightly the old bag limits for blackfin tuna. Previously, blackfin tuna had a recreational limit of 2 fish or 100 pounds per person, per day, whichever is greater. Now, that limit has been altered to be 2 fish per person or 10 fish per vessel, per day, whichever is greater. The recreational limit previously