Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish Fishery and Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Amendment 27/14

NMFS issues this final rule to implement joint Amendment 27 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Reef Fish FMP) and Amendment 14 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico (Shrimp FMP)(Amendment 27/14) prepared by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). This final rule reduces the commercial and recreational quotas for red snapper, reduces the commercial minimum size limit for red snapper, reduces the recreational bag limit for red snapper, prohibits the retention of red snapper under the bag limit for the captain and crew of a vessel operating as a charter vessel or headboat, establishes a red snapper recreational season that is open from June 1 through September 30 each year, requires the use of non- stainless steel circle hooks when using natural baits to fish for Gulf reef fish, requires the use of venting tools and dehooking devices when participating in the commercial or recreational reef fish fisheries, and consistent with the Amendment's framework procedure, provides for implementing seasonal closures of the Gulf shrimp fishery to reduce red snapper bycatch based upon the 74 percent bycatch reduction target established in this final rule. In addition, this final rule establishes a framework procedure to adjust the target effort level and any necessary closures for the Gulf shrimp fishery. The measures contained in this final rule are intended to establish a revised red snapper rebuilding plan and to end overfishing of the red snapper resource in the Gulf of Mexico.