NOAA Fisheries said Wednesday it revised the 2017 black sea bass specifications to increase catch limits based on updated information on the stock status.
The commercial quota will increase this year by 53 percent and NOAA established projected catch limits for 2018.
The revised quota is now 4.12 million pounds for the commercial fishery, compared to 2.71 million pounds before. The projected 2018 catch limit is 3.52 million pounds, 15 percent less than the 2017 revised quota.
"Through this action, we are also removing an accountability measure that would have reduced the amount of quota available to the commercial fishery in 2017," said the agency.
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