Gulf Red Snapper Data Improvement Act

Gulf Red Snapper Data Improvement Act

This bill requires the National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Regional Office to award grants for data collection that is used in stock assessments for reef fish species in the Gulf of Mexico, including the red snapper. In awarding grants, the Office must seek to improve stock assessments through innovative approaches to data collection that incorporates data from peer-reviewed research involving academia, fishermen, and other fisheries sources.

The Department of Commerce must: (1) seek to improve communications by the National Marine Fisheries Service with stakeholders regarding the reef fish species stock assessment processes and outcomes of those processes, and (2) develop a process for using data collected through cooperative research activities for those stock assessments.