Amendment No. 40 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico.

This Amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council seeks to introduce measures to combat overfishing of red snapper stock in the Gulf of Mexico. It establishes a red snapper federal for-hire component that includes all for-hire operators with a valid or renewable federal reef fish for-hire permit, and a private angling component that includes all other for-hire operators and private recreational anglers. The purpose of this action is to define distinct private angling and federal for-hire components of the recreational red snapper fishery and allocate red snapper resources between these recreational components. Establishing separate components provides a basis for flexible management approaches tailored to each component and reduce the likelihood for recreational quota overruns which could jeopardize the rebuilding of the red snapper stock. The Amendment also allocates the recreational red snapper quota and annual catch target (ACT) based on landing of fish effected between 2006 and 2013 (2010 excluded). Finally, Amendment 40 establishes separate red snapper season closure provisions for the federal for-hire and private angling components.