Gulf of America Exempted Fishing Permits
The following are exempted fishing permits (EFP) that are currently applied for or have been issued for activities in the Gulf of America*.
Activities that may affect a fishery, community, or fishing sector may be reviewed by the Gulf Council and be open for public comment. Those EFPs reviewed by the council are listed below.
Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) and Letters of Acknowledgement (LOA) Application Information
- Better Bycatch Reduction Device for the Gulf Shrimp Fleet Project (Update 10/28/2024)
- Experimental Shrimp Trawl Bycatch Reduction Device
- Commercial Golden Crab Fishing Trap Testing
- State Pilot Project for the Management of Recreational Red Snapper Fishing in the Gulf of America
- Trap and Device Testing to Harvest Lionfish
- Headboat Pilot Program
- Mote Marine Lab Red Grouper Full Retention Study
- Exempted Fishing Permit: Quantification of Bycatch Composition and Survival in the Commercial Menhaden Purse Seine Fishery
*Executive Order 14172, “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness” (Jan. 20, 2025), directs that the Gulf of Mexico be renamed the Gulf of America. On August 7, 2025, NOAA Fisheries and the National Ocean Service amended regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations to reflect the renaming. The name change did not result in any changes to, and had no effect on the applicability or enforceability of, any existing regulations. This website continues to use “Gulf of Mexico” when quoting statutes or previously published materials.