New fishing regulations in the Gulf of Mexico have dramatically reduced the Florida grouper harvest, driving up prices for all grouper species.
The new rules, which went into effect in January, replaced a system of closures with catch shares. The regulations require fishermen to pay 3 percent of the value of their catch, known as a "cost recovery fee," to cover the cost of managing the program.
One Gulf fish house owner said that since then, fishermen unloading at his dock have paid between USD 31,000 and USD 34,000 in cost-recovery fees. Add to that reduced landings, the cost of leasing quotas and increased fuel costs associated with fishing farther offshore and the price to the consumer goes up with out any benefit to either the fishermen or the wholesalers.
The National Marine Fisheries Service has set the total quota for red grouper (in gutted pounds) at 5.75 million pounds. As of mid-May, approximately 840,000 pounds of that had been harvested. The combined quota for all deepwater grouper has been set at 1.02 million pounds with 285,665 pounds landed so far. For gag grouper there is a quota of 1.41 million pounds with landings to date of 228,896 pounds.
According to a fisheries economist with the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, harvesting has been impacted by the new regulations but it is too early for any meaningful numbers.
The recent Gulf oil spill is also expected to affect business. One Florida wholesaler said that although the spill resulted in major fishery closures in the Gulf, so far most Florida grouper fishermen have not been affected. He said that what does seem clear so far is that prices will continue to climb for all species of Florida grouper.
Fresh head-on, gutted domestic red grouper is selling in the high-USD 3 to low-USD 4 range for 5- to 10-pound fish. Domestic black grouper is between USD 4 and USD 5. Deep water domestic yellow edge grouper in the 4-8 and 8-up size ranges are selling for USD 5.75 and higher, f.o.b. Miami.
The only price relief is coming from red grouper imported from Mexico that sells for as low as USD 2.50 per pound, f.o.b. Miami. Fresh Mexican red grouper fillets are priced at USD 6.50 per pound and fresh domestic red grouper fillets as high as USD 7.50.
