Gulf-wide efforts
Stock assessments
Greater amberjack
- In fiscal year 2020, Congress appropriated $5 million for the National Sea Grant College Program and $5 million for NMFS for Sea Grant to implement a research program independent of NMFS to support the stock assessment process. The seven Sea Grant programs from Virginia to Texas are managing the program. To learn more, click here.
- A team of scientists has been selected to conduct an independent study to estimate the number of Greater Amberjack in the U.S. waters of the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico regions. The team will also investigate the fish’s movement and how it is distributed by habitat, including artificial, natural and uncharacterized habitats. Read the story here.
Red snapper
- In 2016, Congress directed the National Sea Grant College Program and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Serive (NMFS) to award monies to develop an independent estimate of Gulf of Mexico red snapper stock abundance. To learn more about the history of this Gulf-wide initiative, click here.
- To learn more about the current progress of what is being called the ‘great red snapper count,’ click here.
- To read about the project’s findings, click here.
- Click below to learn how to clean and prepare red snapper!
Reef Fisheries Extension
Aquaculture
Oysters
- Click here to view a series of fact sheets detailing storm and hurricane preparedness for off-bottom oyster aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico.
Featured photo: Rayne Palmer of Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium checks the progress of oyster stocks. (MASGC/Bill Colgin)