The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council currently manages eight fisheries. These fisheries include: coastal migratory pelagics, coral and live bottom habitat, dolphin and wahoo, golden crab, shrimp, snapper, grouper, spiny lobster, and Sargassum. Of these eight fisheries, only one contains species that are considered overfished – snapper grouper. Both the recreational and commercial snapper grouper fisheries are highly regulated and progress continues to be made as more species are removed from the overfished list each year. The other six fisheries are expected to continue into the future at productive sustainable levels. List of species managed by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
Research and monitoring for these fisheries is conducted through the National Marine Fisheries Service. While the Council is not responsible for research and monitoring, each of the eight regional fishery management councils is required by the reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act to develop a prioritized research plan for annual submission to the Secretary of Commerce. The Council has approved the South Atlantic Research and Monitoring Prioritization Plan for 2012-2016. The Plan includes highlighted issues and prioritized recommendations for obtaining accurate fishery information, including basic data required for management purposes.
Below is a list of Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) for the species managed by the Council and links to additional information. The list includes the Council’s comprehensive Habitat Plan describing essential fish habitat. This document will serve as the foundation for the development of the Council’s Fishery Ecosystem Plan. For more information, visit the Council’s Ecosystem Pages.
Note: For information about amendments under development by the Council, including draft versions of the documents, please reference the briefing book materials from the Council’s quarterly meetings.