A special public comment session will be held during the April Council meeting beginning at 5:00 PM CDT on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. The purpose of this special comment session is to gather feedback on recreational reef fish management and the outcomes of the Council’s Recreational Initiative. The Council welcomes public comment from both in-person and virtual participants. In-person participants can sign-in to speak outside the meeting room at The Lodge at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Virtual participants can join the webinar using this link.

The Gulf Council’s Recreational Initiative is an effort to evaluate past and current recreational reef fish management strategies and explore potential innovative management approaches that could be applied in the future. The effort focused on the following five reef fish species: red snapper, red grouper, gag grouper, greater amberjack, and gray triggerfish but outcomes and recommendations could be applied to other species in the future.

More information on the Council’s Recreational Initiative, including reports on the work conducted so far, can be found on the Recreational Initiative Webpage.

The Gulf Council is one of eight regional Fishery Management Councils established by the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. The Council prepares fishery management plans, which are designed to manage fishery resources within the 200-mile limit of the Gulf of America.