Joint Meeting of South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils’ Scientific and Statistical Committees

Fishing level recommendations for Southeastern Yellowtail Snapper in federal waters will be addressed when members of the Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSCs) from the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meet via webinar on August 4, 2022.

Yellowtail Snapper are an economically important species, popular with both recreational and commercial fishermen in southern Florida and the Florida Keys. The Yellowtail Snapper stock is not considered overfished nor undergoing overfishing according to the latest stock assessment. The assessment was reviewed by the SSC’s in 2020 and fishing level recommendations provided. Updates to the data will be addressed during the August 4th meeting, and new fishing level recommendations for Yellowtail Snapper in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico are expected.

Members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s SSC will meet in the afternoon to discuss the most recent stock assessment for South Atlantic Spanish Mackerel. The assessment was completed in May 2022 through the Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review stock assessment process (SEDAR 78). The SSC will review the stock assessment report and provide recommendations on whether the assessment is best available science, if the assessment is useful for management purposes, and provide fishing level recommendations if appropriate.

Additional meeting information, include the meeting agenda, briefing materials, online public comment form, and the webinar registration link is available online at: https://safmc.net/events/aug-joint-sa-and-gom-ssc-meeting/.