Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Exempted Fishing Permit

Résumé

NMFS announces the receipt of an application for an exempted fishing permit (EFP) for a collaborative effort among personnel from Texas Tech University, Texas A&M--Corpus Christi, and a commercial fishing organization, Shareholders Alliance. If granted, the EFP would authorize the applicants to collect and retain limited numbers of specimens that would otherwise be prohibited from possession and retention. This study, to be conducted in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf), is intended to more closely monitor populations of red snapper and other reef fish to compare relative catch rates and discards between vessels that possess varying amounts of red snapper allocation under the current Gulf red snapper individual fishing quota (IFQ) program.