The South Atlantic Bite
Newsworthy Notes – May 30th, 2025
Briefing Book Materials Available Online for June 9-13, 2025 Council Meeting
Radisson Resort at the Port | 8701 Astronaut Blvd. | Cape Canaveral, FL
Meeting materials for the June meeting of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council are now available from the Council’s website. The Council will meet at the Radisson Resort at the Port in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The meeting is open to the public and available via webinar as it occurs. Register now to attend via webinar and receive email reminders as the meeting date approaches.
The meeting week will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, June 9th with a meeting of the Council’s Snapper Grouper Commercial Subcommittee focusing on issues specific to the commercial fishery. The Council will also hold meetings of its Mackerel Cobia Committee, Snapper Grouper Committee, and a joint meeting of the Habitat & Ecosystem Committee and Shrimp Committee. The full Council will also meet during the week to address federal fisheries issues.
Meeting materials, including committee agendas, overviews, and presentations, are now posted to the Council’s website.
Public Comment
The Council will hold a formal public comment session on Wednesday, June 11th beginning at 4:00 p.m. The comment session allows for in-person and remote (via webinar) verbal public comment. Information, including a link to sign up for making comment via webinar is available from the June 2025 Council Meeting page. An online comment form is also available for providing public comments for Council consideration. You may also read public comments as they are posted.
2025 Recreational Seasons Announced
NOAA Fisheries announces recreational seasons for Blueline Tilefish, Gag, Black Sea Bass, and Snowy Grouper
May 1st marks the beginning of shallow water grouper season in South Atlantic federal waters. For some species within the snapper grouper management complex, NOAA Fisheries announces the length of the season, based on catch rates from the previous season and projections of when the recreational catch limit will be reached. 2025 seasons have been set for the following:
Blueline Tilefish – Opened May 1 and will close at 12:01 a.m. local time on July 22, 2025.
Gag Grouper – Opened May 1 and will close at 12:01 a.m. local time on June 26, 2025.
Black Sea Bass – Opened April 1 and will remain open through March 31, 2026.
Snowy Grouper – Opened May 1 and will close at 12:01 a.m. local time on June 9, 2025.
Keep up with the latest regulations using Fish Rules. The free mobile app provides fishing regulations using your phone’s GPS and calendar to show the saltwater regulations you need in both state and federal waters. Click the link to learn more.
Regulations are in place to help improve the survival of released fish. A list of requirements is included in the Best Fishing Practices Program section of the Council’s website. Find out what you can do to put these best practices into place when planning your next offshore fishing trip!
2024 Annual Report for SAFMC Citizen Science Program Now Available
Annual report highlights program achievements, outreach, and the importance of partnerships, collaborators, and volunteers
The new 2024 Annual Report for the Council’s Citizen Science Program offers updates about the activities and growth of the program, including the expansion of Citizen Science projects, outreach efforts, and the recently completed program evaluation.
The 2024 Annual Report begins with highlights of the Citizen Science Program’s contributions to workshops, conferences, and meetings supporting the use of citizen science across the country. Focusing closer to home, the report provides updates on the SAFMC Release project that collaborates with recreational, for-hire, and commercial fishermen to gather data on released shallow water grouper and Red Snapper using the mobile app SciFish. Working closely with the Council’s Best Fishing Practices program in 2024, staff conducted outreach that expanded awareness of best practices while increasing the number of participants in SAFMC Release.
The FISHstory project, where historic fishing photos are used to help fill data gaps, also continued to grow, building from a pilot project to a full-scale effort. With continued funding in 2024, FISHstory relaunched in Zooniverse, an online crowdsourcing platform that allows trained volunteers from around world to analyze historic fishing photos.
The annual report also includes programmatic activities like the Citizen Science Program Evaluation and Stakeholder Assessment. The evaluation included an online survey targeting fishery scientists and managers as well as interviews with fishermen. The effort resulted in key recommendations for refining the Program in the future.
Take a few minutes to review the 2024 Annual Citizen Science Report for an overview of the positive things happening in this program, updates on other citizen science projects, and to see how you can get involved! Have an idea for a Citizen Science project? Share your ideas through the Citizen Science Project Idea Portal.
Additional Snippets:
“Extending Our Reach” – NOAA Library Seminar Series Focuses on the Regional Reef Fish Project and Program Activities – June 3rd at 3 p.m.
Join NC Sea Grant’s Scott Baker and Dr. Marcus Drymon as they provide an overview of the regional reef fish project and program activities in both the South Atlantic and Gulf regions as part of the ongoing NOAA Library Seminar Series. The two will discuss the background for creating the Reef Fish Communication fellowship in the South Atlantic, logistics, and recent fellowship activities. Scott Baker also serves as Chair of the Council’s Outreach and Communications Advisory Panel. Mark you calendar for next Tuesday, June 3rd at 3 p.m. and register now at: https://vimeo.com/event/5134908.
Mark Your Calendar
Keep track of meetings scheduled by the Council from the Meetings page of the website and register for meeting webinars as information becomes available. Register early and receive email reminders as the meeting date(s) approach!