Seasonal Prohibition on Fishing Caribbean Federal Waters, Grammanik Bank off St. Thomas

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries reminds fishermen and the public of the upcoming seasonal closure on fishing for/ or possession of red, black, tiger, yellowfin and yellowedge grouper in U.S. Caribbean federal waters.
• This closure began at 12:01 a.m., local time, on Feb. 1, 2019, and will extend through 11:59 p.m., local time, April 30, 2019.
• This prohibition on possession does not apply to such grouper harvested and landed on shore prior to the closure.

The Grammanik Bank area is located south of St. Thomas and bounded by the following coordinates:

A) 18°11.898′ N, 64°56.328′ W
B) 18°11.645′ N, 64°56.225′ W
C) 18°11.058′ N, 64°57.810′ W
D) 18°11.311′ N 64°57.913′ W
E) 18°11.898′ N, 64°56.328′ W

These seasonal closures protect species when they are spawning (reproducing) and are therefore more vulnerable to fishing pressure.

NOAA Fisheries reminds fishermen and the public of the upcoming seasonal closure on fishing for or possession of any fish species, except highly migratory species, in the Grammanik Bank area off St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (Figure 1).
• This closure begins at 12:01 a.m., local time, on February 1, 2019, and extends through 11:59 p.m., local time, April 30, 2019.
• The term “fish” means finfish, mollusks, crustaceans, and all other forms of marine animal and plant life other than marine mammals and birds.

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