The South Atlantic Bite

Posted August 25, 2025

Newsworthy Notes – August 22nd, 2025

The next meeting of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will be held September 15-19, 2025 in North Charleston, SC. The meeting will take place at the North Charleston Marriott, 4770 Goer Drive, N. Charleston, SC. The meeting is open to the public and also available via webinar as it occurs.

The meeting begins on Monday, September 15th at 8:30 a.m. with a meeting of the Council’s Snapper Grouper Commercial Sub-Committee. The Council will also hold meetings of the full Council and meetings of the Snapper Grouper Committee, Shrimp Committee, SEDAR Committee, and a joint meeting of the Habitat & Ecosystem Committee and Shrimp Committee during the week. The meeting is scheduled to end at 12 p.m. on Friday.

A public comment session will be held on Wednesday, September 17th beginning at 4 p.m. Additional meeting information, including webinar registration, an online public comment form, and meeting materials will be posted on the Council’s website two weeks prior to the meeting.

Best Fishing Practices

New FAQ helps answer questions and provides references

Do descending devices really work? Do they make fish more susceptible to shark depredation? When should I use a descending device? Why do best fishing practices matter?

These and other questions are commonly asked by offshore fishermen when discussing best fishing practices with Council staff. A new Best Fishing Practices Frequently Asked Questions feature article answers these and other questions associated with requirements for use of descending devices and other gear when fishing for species in the snapper grouper management complex, all designed to improve survival of released fish. The new FAQ feature article answers your questions and provides links to associated research on the topic.

The Council’s Best Fishing Practices campaign promotes the use of best fishing and release practices through education about regulations, extensive outreach, and online materials. To access additional information, including a list of requirements and videos showing how to use a descending device, the various types of devices available, and how to make your own descending device, visit the Council’s Best Fishing Practices webpage. Whether releasing a fish because it’s too small, out of season, or you have reached your retention limit, using best practices will help ensure the fish lives to fight another day. Use the Best Fishing Practices FAQ to help better understand why, and share the information with fellow fishermen!

Questions? Contact Ashley Oliver, Best Fishing Practices Outreach Specialist at Ashley.Oliver@safmc.net.

SAFMC Release Project – Share Information About Your Released Fish

The number of released fish is increasing in South Atlantic waters. While kept fish can be sampled back at the dock, it is more difficult to collect information on fish that are released on the water. Fishermen hold the key to this critical, first-hand knowledge.

The SAFMC Release project, part of the Council’s Citizen Science Program, partners with recreational, for-hire, and commercial fishermen to collect information on shallow water grouper and Red Snapper using the mobile app, SciFish. It was developed in collaboration with fishermen, scientists, data and fishery managers, and technology experts.

Data collected through the project include length, depth caught, optional location, observations of shark depredation, and use of barotrauma reduction techniques – like descending devices. These data help us better understand what species are being released, size of released fish, and their chance of survival. The information provides valuable insight and helps inform stock assessments and management.

To enhance the data coming to the project, SAFMC Release recently partnered with Sea Grant on the South Atlantic Release Rodeo – an exciting three-month challenge where SAFMC Release participants earned entries into Sea Grant giveaways through qualifying SciFish submissions. A report on the challenge’s success is coming soon, so keep an eye out for it in a future South Atlantic Bite.

Learn more about SAFMC Release at: https://safmc.net/citizen-science/safmc-release/ and complete the online form to set up your SAFMC Release account.

Fish Rules and Other Tools for Keeping Up with the Latest Regs

Knowing the fishing regulations before you start your offshore fishing trip is an important part of using best practices. Federal fishing regulations can be complex as different seasons open and close and bag and size limits vary by species. Fish Rules is a free and easy-to-use way to navigate through both state and federal fishing regulations. The free mobile app provides saltwater and freshwater fishing regulations in an easy to understand format. With a glance, know if a fish is in season, how many you can keep, how big they have to be, and more. There is a commercial version of the mobile app as well!

Caution When Using AI for Regulations

It’s easy to pick up your cell phone and quickly search for the answer to a question. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will even provide a quick summary – but be careful. We recently received an inquiry from a fisherman asking about a discrepancy between regulation information obtained from a quick Google search and the regulations posted on the Fish Rules mobile app. The AI summary provided an incorrect size limit. While it can be convenient, use caution when using AI for your fishing regulation information. In addition to Fish Rules, regulation information for species managed by the Council is available from the SAFMC website: https://safmc.net/regulations/.

Note that information provided through the Council’s website and via Fish Rules is summarized and provided as a courtesy. The Federal Code of Regulations provides official fisheries regulations for reference.

Additional Snippets:

Florida Angler Catches World Record Snapper – IGFA all-tackle world record blackfin snapper caught off Stuart, Florida

It would be interesting to know how many misidentified blackfin snapper are tossed back. Capt. Mike McFadden initially thought he was looking at a red snapper when his new IGFA all-tackle world record hit the deck. It’s a good thing he took a closer look. See this recent article from Sport Fishing Magazine for details and see if you could identify the blackfin snapper!

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!