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

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NMFS announces the receipt of an application for an exempted fishing permit (EFP) from Dr. Chris Koenig (Florida State University) and Dr. Chris Stallings (University of South Florida). If granted, the EFP would authorize the applicants to use trained for-hire fishermen to be able to temporarily possess goliath grouper for non-lethal sampling during the course of their normal fishing activities. This non-lethal sampling would include measuring, tagging, and removing a portion of the goliath grouper dorsal fin rays before releasing the live fish. The intent of this study is to provide regional age structure of recovering goliath grouper populations for fish stock assessments.