NOAA Fisheries is Preparing a Secretarial Amendment to End Overfishing of Red Snapper

September 26, 2024 NOAA Fisheries

The Secretarial Amendment and supporting analyses will evaluate a range of alternative options for setting and managing red snapper catches at levels that end overfishing (slow the rate of red snapper being removed from the population) and support rebuilding this red snapper population.

Enforcement of Section 609 Program Improving Foreign Commercial Fishery Practices

Under the program, the State Department, working with officials from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”) Fisheries, certifies countries and/or individual fisheries as being in compliance with Section 609’s requirements and therefore eligible to supply the U.S. market with shrimp.

Commercial Closure for Red Snapper in South Atlantic Federal Waters

The commercial harvest of red snapper in federal waters of the South Atlantic will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on August 6, 2024.

Council Tackles Trade Barriers to US Tuna Fisheries at Meeting 

The Council recommended convening a group of experts, inviting federal agencies and the fishing industry, to address these regional unfair trade issues. Regarding U.S. labeling regulations, the members requested the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, NOAA, State of Hawai‘i, Territories of Guam and American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) agencies to enforce Country of Origin Labeling and other local requirements.

NOAA Forecasts Above-Average Summer ‘Dead Zone’ in Gulf of Mexico

NOAA is forecasting an above-average summer “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico covering approximately 5,827 square miles — an area roughly the size of Connecticut. The dead zone, or hypoxic area, is an area of low oxygen that can kill fish and other marine life. It occurs every summer and is primarily a result of excess nutrient pollution from human activities in cities and farm areas throughout the Mississippi-Atchafalaya watershed. The average dead zone measurement is 5,205 square miles over the 37-year period of record.