Closure of the Nassau Grouper Season - Dec 01, 2008 to Feb 28, 2009.

www.sharkriders.com - Nassau Grouper. Underwater Photo by Ed Hoffman

The Government of The Bahamas has once again mandated the closure of the Nassau Grouper Season, in keeping with regional efforts to conserve the vulnerable Caribbean reef fish. The season will be closed from December 1, 2008 to February 28, 2009 throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

According to the Fisheries Resources (Jurisdiction and Conservation) (Amendment) Regulations , 2008, it will be illegal for any person to take, land, process, sell or offer for sale any fish commonly known as "the Nassau Grouper" during the period December 01, 2008 and February 28, 2009. The only exception allowed for, is where the taking or landing is carried out with the written approval of the Director of Fisheries for scientific research purposes.

To ensure that the species is not being harvested or sold during the closed season, the fisheries regulation also mandates that any grouper species that is landed during the period, must be done so with head, tail and skin intact.

The Nassau Grouper is listed as threatened by the American Fisheries Society and endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is fully protected in the United States with permission granted only for catch and release.

The species aggregates by the thousands to spawn and the closure aims to protect them in Bahamian waters during this critical point in their life cycle.

In 2003 the Cayman Island Marine Conservation Board instituted an 8-year total fishing ban on all known Nassau grouper aggregation sites in their territorial waters.