Trout Catch Quotas to Rise
The Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources voted Sept. 16 to send proposed changes to the state's commercial spotted seatrout fishery out for public notice.
At the regular meeting, Matt Hill, director of the Department of Marine Resources' Office of Marine Fisheries, told the board the annual harvest quota would rise from 50,000 to 70,000 pounds and the minimum size limit would increase from 14 to 15 inches. He also described a change to the income threshold required for a commercial endorsement, saying, "So, if we raised it to the 2,000 lb of fin fish product and just left the uh 5,000 alone, that would get us around that 75 to 80 fisherman more somewhere in there." A commissioner identified only as Ronnie made the motion to proceed, seconded by a commissioner identified as Mayfield; their votes were not detailed in meeting materials.
The proposal now enters a 30-day public comment period, with a final vote expected in October. The changes amount to a nearly 40% increase in the commercial quota alongside a doubled income threshold for the endorsement, adjustments that would directly affect the fishermen who land the bulk of Mississippi's speckled trout catch.