NOAA Fisheries Service has determined the 2012 commercial quota (annual catch target) of 60,900 pounds whole weight (ww) of gray triggerfish will be caught by this date.
During the closure:
- Commercial harvest or possession of gray triggerfish is prohibited.
- The closure applies in both state and federal waters for vessels that have a valid Gulf of Mexico commercial reef fish permit.
This closure is necessary to protect the gray triggerfish resource. This stock is considered overfished (the population is too low) and undergoing overfishing (too many are being caught each year).
The recreational quota of 217,100 pounds ww was projected to have been caught. Therefore, the recreational sector was closed to the harvest of gray triggerfish on June 11, 2012.
