The Gulf Council will meet at The Lodge at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama from April 7-10, 2025. The meeting will begin at 8:30 AM, CDT each day. A closed session will be held from 4:15 – 5:00 PM CDT on Monday, April 7th so Council can select the 2024 Law Enforcement Officer/Team of the year and make preliminary selections for its Spiny Lobster Advisory Panel.

A special public comment session will be held from 5:00 – 6:00 PM CDT on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, to gather feedback on recreational reef fish management and the outcomes of the Council’s Recreational Initiative. General public comment will be held on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, from 2:00 – 5:30 PM, CDT. The Council welcomes public comment from both in-person and virtual participants. Instructions on how to join both sessions and provide comment will be located on the meetings materials webpage as soon as it’s available.

During this meeting, the Council plans to take final action on two issues. First, a framework action that considers modifying the vessel position data collection program for the Gulf federally permitted shrimp fishery to replace the old cellular electronic logbook program that ceased data transmission in 2020 due to expiration of the 3G network. Second, a framework action that considers increasing the lane snapper minimum size limit for both commercial and recreational fishing which is expected to reduce harvest rates to avoid early season closures and prevent overfishing.

The Council will hear presentations on the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Restoration Blueprint Final Management Plan, the Return ‘Em Right Program, and Deep Water Horizon Open Ocean Restoration Plan for Fish and Water Column Invertebrates. The Council will review stock assessment results and resulting catch limit recommendations for mutton snapper, yellowtail snapper, and red grouper. The Council also plans to hear a final report on the outcomes of its Recreational Initiative and work on shallow-water grouper, deep-water grouper, and for-hire electronic reporting.

Register for the webinar here.

Full Committee and Council Agendas and meeting materials will be posted as they become available on the Council Meetings webpage.