Among sport and commercial fishermen, there’s been growing interest in deepwater bottom fish. Sonar and hook-and-line technology have been refined to make it a fairly simple affair to hoist up snowy grouper, tilefish and other species from waters deeper than 500 feet. In light of this, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is considering ways to better protect certain species from overfishing.

Based on recent stock assessments, the council wants to reduce harvest by 69 percent for snowy grouper, 35 percent for golden tilefish, 31 percent for vermilion snapper and somewhere between 35 and 51 percent for black seabass. Some alternatives under consideration include: quotas for some fish, increases in size limits, decreases in recreational bags, and commercial trip limit reductions. For a complete list of management alternatives, and an update on the status of new regulations, visit www.safmc.net

For some tips on catching groupers and deepwater snappers on sporting tackle, look at the July issue of Florida Sportsman Magazine, now on newsstands. Deep-jigging is the subject of this month’s Tropical Sportsman feature.

FS