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This week NOAA announced several changes to fishing seasons and limits in federal waters from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Recreational anglers face a closure in the South Atlantic and a scheduled closure in the Gulf, while halibut fishermen in the Pacific Northwest get extra days on the water. Commercial operations also see new daily limits, a seasonal closure off California, and a proposed extension of a permit moratorium.

Recreational fishing seasons change

  • Snowy grouper closes in the South Atlantic on June 7. The recreational fishery shuts down at 12:01 a.m. local time and stays closed until January 1, 2027. The closure enforces catch limits already in the fishery management plan and means anglers cannot keep snowy grouper for the rest of this year.
  • Greater amberjack fishing in the Gulf closes October 14. The recreational harvest in Gulf federal waters will stop from October 14, 2026, through July 31, 2027, to keep the sector from exceeding its allowed catch of 335,320 pounds. This is an automatic trigger under existing management plans, not a new policy.
  • Extra Pacific halibut days added in the Columbia River subarea. Six additional open days fall on June 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, and 23. The added days give anglers a better chance to use the full regional allocation and support charter boats and related businesses.

Commercial fishing limits and closures

  • Lower daily limit for Atlantic bluefin tuna harpoon boats. Harpoon vessels can now keep no more than five large, medium, and giant bluefin tuna combined per day, down from ten. The limit applies for the rest of the 2026 season, through November 15, and is intended to spread the catch over more of the season so the fishery does not close early.
  • Drift gillnet fishing closed off southern California this summer. A portion of the Pacific east of 120 degrees west longitude, known as the Southern California Bight, is closed to drift gillnet fishing from June 1 through August 31, 2026. The closure is tied to El Nino conditions and enforces existing rules meant to prevent accidental turtle deaths.
  • Proposed extension of the Gulf shrimp permit moratorium. The Gulf Fishery Management Council has submitted Amendment 19, which would extend the ban on new commercial shrimp vessel permits in the Gulf of America by ten years, from October 2026 to October 2036. Keeping the number of permits fixed is meant to protect the value of existing licenses and limit competition for the same shrimp.

New management unit for two grouper species

  • Scamp and yellowmouth grouper get their own quota complex. The two South Atlantic species are now managed together under a new unit called the scamp and yellowmouth grouper complex. This lets regulators set catch limits aimed at the recovery needs of these specific fish instead of grouping them with other grouper, and fishermen must follow new bag limits, trip limits, and accounting rules.

This weekly agency digest is generated from federal records (the Federal Register and Congress.gov) and summarized in plain English. It may simplify or omit detail — follow the linked official sources before relying on any item. Part of The Boring Parts.

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