After a 10-month reduction in allowable catch for red grouper in Gulf of Mexico federal waters, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service on Monday announced it will increase the quota by 1.2 million pounds. That increase, which officially begins on Wednesday, still keeps the quota nearly 1 million pounds shy of last year, but Roy Crabtree, southeast regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries Service, says that “due to lower than predicted landings in 2010” quotas probably will increase in the next three years.
Grouper have lean, firm white flesh with a heavy flake, a cross between bass and halibut, and typically are found in the caverns and crevices of reefs.
In accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council recommends quota changes to the fisheries service.
Under the new rule, the 2011 red grouper quota will increase from 5.68 million pounds to 6.88 million pounds.
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