REEF FISHES
(06/05 NCDMF)

Stock status - Concern - Of the 73 species in the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) management unit, 17 species are overfished, 16 are not overfished, and the status of the other 40 is unknown. The 17 overfished species include vermilion snapper, red snapper, red porgy, black sea bass, red grouper, snowy grouper, golden tilefish, and gray triggerfish.

Average Commercial Landings and Value 1995‑2004 ‑ 2,760,230 lbs./$4,307,514
(Including black sea bass)

2004 Commercial Landings and Value ‑2,968,577 lbs./$4,657,314

Average Recreational Landings 1995-2004 - 731,719 lbs., 2004 – 1,233,336 lbs.

Average Number of Award Citations 1995‑2004/ 2004 only ‑Amberjack (433/322), Grouper (32/66), Jack Crevalle (70/19), Porgy 9/21), Sheepshead (28/22), Red snapper (27/73), and Triggerfish (7/8).

Status of Fisheries Management Plan ‑ In North Carolina, reef fish are currently included in the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Management Plan, which defers to SAFMC FMP compliance requirements. Managed under Amendments 1‑12 by the SAFMC, with Admendment 13b being developed. Amendment 9, which became effective February 1999, increased size and bag limits, set spawning closures, trip limits and quotas, and further restricted longline catches. Harvest of red porgy was prohibited through emergency action, effective September 1999. Amendment 12 allowed a 50 lb. commercial trip limit for red porgy from May through December.

Data and Research Needs ‑Develop juvenile indices, assess survival rates, conduct population assessment, expand age and growth studies, determine migration patterns.

Current Minimum Size Limits (2005) ‑State and federal: greater amberjack‑28 inches FL (recreational) and 36 inches FL (commercial); black and gag groupers-24 inches TL; red, scamp, yellowfin, and yellowmouth groupers‑20 inches TL; red porgy-14 inches TL; silk and blackfin snappers‑12 inches TL; red snapper‑20 inches TL; and vermilion snapper‑11 inches TL (recreational) and 12 inches TL (commercial). Federal only: hogfish (not pigfish)‑12 inches FL; dog, gray, cubera, mahogany, queen, schoolmaster, and yellowtail snappers‑12 inches TL; and mutton snapper‑16 inches TL.

Harvest Season (2005) ‑ Currently open year round except for the following species: Wreckfish has a spawning closure from January 15‑April 15, gag and black grouper have a March and April closure (no sale, bag limit only), red porgy closure is January-April, and greater amberjack has an April closure (no sale) with a season and quota beginning May 1.

Size and Age at Maturity ‑Variable

Historical and Current Maximum Age ‑Variable

Juvenile Abundance Indices ‑None available.

Habits/Habitats ‑ Occur on hard or "live" bottom on the outer continental shelf.