With the year drawing to a close, NOAA Fisheries has issued an update for participants in the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) program in the Gulf of Mexico.
The announcement includes reminders …
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With the year drawing to a close, NOAA Fisheries has issued an update for participants in the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) program in the Gulf of Mexico.
The announcement includes reminders about the end-of-year system maintenance, 2025 fishing quotas and upcoming amendments to the program.
The Catch Shares online system, which supports IFQ transactions, will undergo scheduled maintenance starting Dec. 31, at 6 p.m. EST and will resume operations on Jan. 1, 2025, at 2 p.m. EST. During this 20-hour outage, participants can still submit advanced notices of landing using their vessel monitoring systems or by contacting the 24/7 call service at (866) 425-7627. However, only transactions completed before the maintenance period will count toward the 2024 allocation.
Participants are urged to finalize electronic transactions, including share transfers, before the system goes offline. Unaccepted share transfers will be canceled and any unused allocation remaining in shareholder or vessel accounts will expire at the start of the maintenance period.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, new IFQ allocations will be issued to shareholder accounts. Participants must transfer their allocation to vessel accounts before completing landing transactions. When transferring allocation to another vessel, NOAA recommends using the vessel's Coast Guard documentation or state registration number to ensure accuracy.
The 2025 quotas for each IFQ share category are as follows (in pounds, gutted weight):
Deep-water Grouper: 1,024,000
Gag Grouper: 204,000
Other Shallow-water Grouper: 525,000
Red Grouper: 2,790,000
Red Snapper: 7,493,784
Tilefish: 582,000
The multi-use allocation for 2025 has also been finalized. Red grouper multi-use allocation will be set at 0% due to gag grouper rebuilding efforts under Amendment 56, while gag multi-use allocation will be 73.5% of the total gag allocation.
Several amendments to the Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) are under consideration by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council:
• Amendment 58A proposes adjustments to shallow-water grouper catch limits and introduces new share categories for species like scamp and yellowmouth grouper.
• Amendment 58B focuses on revising deep-water grouper catch limits and management measures, particularly for yellowedge grouper, which was recently assessed as undergoing overfishing.
• Amendments 59 and 60 aim to address concerns regarding IFQ participation requirements and share distribution. Both amendments are in the scoping phase, with input sought from stakeholders.
The Council is also considering temporary revisions to shallow-water grouper catch limits for 2026 as Amendment 58A progresses.
Participants will notice new data views in the Catch Shares online system, designed to enhance transparency and usability. These include:
• Landings Summary by Year: Displays annual landings and value by species.
• Landings Summary by Species: Allows users to view species-specific landings and value by year.
• Landings Summary by Vessel: Provides vessel-specific landing details.
• Ex-Vessel Rolling Average: Offers a three-month rolling average of ex-vessel prices, excluding outliers, to improve marketplace transparency.
These updates are part of NOAA's ongoing efforts to streamline the IFQ program and improve user experience.
For more details on the IFQ program or to stay updated on Council actions, visit www.fisheries.noaa.gov.
