The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Coastal Pelagics Management Board approved a total harvest quota for the Atlantic migratory group of cobia of 80,112 fish for the 2024-2026 fishing seasons.
This total quota results in a coastwide recreational quota of 76,908 fish and a commercial quota of 73,116 pounds.
The total quota level was first approved in February 2020 for the 2020-2022 fishing seasons. In 2021, the board changed the cobia quota time frame from 2020-2022 to 2021-2023. Based on the recommendation from the technical committee and in the absence of a new stock assessment, the board has set the 2024-2026 total harvest quota equal to the 2023 total harvest quota of 80,112 fish.
A new stock assessment for Atlantic migratory group of cobia is scheduled for 2025, with the potential to inform 2026 or later total harvest quotas. The board will meet in October to consider new recreational management measures for some states.
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