Fisheries of the South Atlantic; 2026 South Atlantic Red Snapper Commercial Fishing Season

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 622 [Docket No. 1710319998630-02; RTID 0648-XF836] AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Temporary rule; commercial fishing season. SUMMARY: For the 2026 fishing year, NMFS announces the opening date of the red snapper commercial fishing season in the South Atlantic exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Announcing the opening date of the commercial season is an accountability measure (AM) for the commercial sector and allows fishers to maximize their opportunity to harvest the commercial annual catch limit (ACL). DATES: The South Atlantic red snapper commercial fishing season opens at 12:01 a.m., local time, July 13, 2026, and remains open until 12:01 a.m., local time, January 1, 2027, unless changed by subsequent notification in the Federal Register . FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Vara, NMFS Southeast Regional Office, 727-824-5305, mary.vara@noaa.gov . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery includes red snapper and is managed under the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP). The FMP was prepared by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and NMFS, was approved by the Secretary of Commerce, and is implemented by NMFS through regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation an…