FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:             FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Chris Smith                          11/14/97
Robert Sadler

According to landing estimates, the 1997 recreational quota of 4.47 million pounds of red snapper caught in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico will have been reached by Nov. 26. The Gulf recreational fishery will close for 34 days starting 12:01 a.m. local time, Nov. 27, through midnight, Dec. 31, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced today.

"Current red snapper landing estimates indicate that the annual recreational quota for red snapper will have been reached by Nov. 26, and our agency is required to close the Gulf's recreational fishery," said Dr. Andrew J. Kemmerer, regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service's Southeast Region. "The brief closure is necessary to comply with recent amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act."

Therefore, effective 12:01 a.m. local time, Nov. 27 through midnight, Dec. 31, 1997, the recreational bag and possession limits for red snapper throughout federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico will be zero. In addition, the red snapper bag and possession limits will be zero aboard commercial vessels that possess permits for landing Gulf reef fish, regardless of where the red snapper were harvested. NMFS has also requested that all Gulf states close the recreational fishery in state waters and prohibit sale of red snapper from state waters during the federal closure period.

813-570-5344, during business hours (M-F 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., EDT), or any time by calling the Fisheries Enforcement hotline at 1-800-853-1964. NMFS is the fisheries management agency of the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

This and other news releases are available on the NMFS Southeast Region homepage at http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov/ and on NOAA's Internet homepage at http://www.noaa.gov/public-affairs