Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council

What Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council does

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is a U.S. Regional Fishery Management Council established in 1976 under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and operating under NOAA Fisheries. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, the Council advises NOAA Fisheries on the management of federal fisheries within the Gulf of America Exclusive Economic Zone, spanning federal waters from the state-jurisdiction boundary out to roughly 200 nautical miles offshore across five Gulf states (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas). Its mandate covers 12 fishery management plan categories including reef fish, coastal migratory pelagics, shrimp, coral, red drum, spiny lobster, and stone crab, and it sets annual catch limits and commercial/recreational allocations (e.g., Red Snapper at 16.31 million lbs, Red Grouper at 4.96 million lbs, King Mackerel at 9.99 million lbs, Spanish Mackerel at 11.3 million lbs shared).

The Council's core products are public-information and regulatory platforms rather than commercial offerings. These include the gulfcouncil.org website (regulations, fishery management plans, meeting schedules, public comment), the FishRules-powered mobile app for location-based regulation lookup, the Coral Portal (habitat maps and a Deep Water Coral Predictor), the GulfFIN Data Warehouse for historical commercial and recreational landings queries, the History of Management Timeline Tool, and participation in the SEDAR (Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review) stock assessment process. Distribution runs through the website, mobile app, state agency partners, and the U.S. Coast Guard for enforcement. Customer-facing segments are commercial fishing operators holding federal permits, recreational anglers and for-hire charter/headboat operators, and five state fisheries agencies; stakeholder engagement is institutionalized through Scientific and Statistical Committees, Advisory Panels, Technical Committees, public hearings, and scoping workshops.

The Council has no commercial revenue model: it does not charge fees, has no disclosed pricing, and is funded entirely through federal appropriations. The company_type is private in the schema only because the schema lacks a "government_entity" bucket; the entity is a federal government body, not a privately owned firm, has no parent company in the venture sense (it sits under NOAA), has raised no funding, has no subsidiaries, has no patents or trademarks, and conducts no M&A. Decision-making is driven by science, statutory mandate, and public input, with annual amendments, framework actions, and stock assessments; the 2009 Aquaculture FMP was struck down by court ruling, and the 2023 SEFHIER for-hire reporting rule was set aside by court ruling, leading to multiple amendments being placed on hold between 2016 and 2026.

Name

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council

Legal name

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council

Website

https://gulfcouncil.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is a federally mandated NOAA regional council, headquartered in Tampa, that sets annual catch limits, allocations, and management plans for Gulf of America federal fisheries across five Gulf states, serving commercial fishermen, recreational anglers, and state fisheries agencies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fisheries Management Services

NAICS

Regulation of Agricultural Marketing and Commodities (926140), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924)

SIC

Fishing, Hunting And Trapping (900)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAIAMAI

Coastal & Marine Resources Administration (Oceans, Fisheries, Shorelines)

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Environmental Protection & Natural Resources Administration

SECONDARYBPADALAI

Oceans, Coastal & Marine Resource Management

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Climate, Environment & Sustainable Development Programs

SECONDARYBPAGAGAE

Marine & Freshwater Conservation

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Environmental & Conservation Organizations

Keywords

• Fishery management
• Fishing regulations
• Marine resource management
• Stock assessment
• Fishery management plans

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council develops Fishery Management Plans, amendments, and annual catch limits/allocations for federally managed species in the Gulf of America EEZ, and advises NOAA Fisheries on implementing those regulations. It conducts stock assessments through the SEDAR process, manages Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) programs for commercial reef fish, and provides public access to fishing regulations, meeting schedules, and stakeholder input opportunities. The Council is funded through federal appropriations and does not charge fees for its regulatory services.

Product overview

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council operates primarily as a regulatory and informational platform rather than a commercial product company. Its core offering is the Gulf Council Website, which serves as the central hub for fishing regulations, fishery management plans, meeting schedules, and public participation opportunities. Supporting products include the Fish Rules Mobile App for mobile regulation lookup, the Coral Portal for habitat mapping and coral data, the GulfFIN Data Warehouse for landings data queries, and the SEDAR stock assessment system. The council also publishes Annual Catch Limits & Allocations data and provides an interactive History of Management Timeline Tool. These offerings form an ecosystem of regulatory resources and data tools for managing Gulf of America federal fisheries, rather than a unified commercial product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fish Rules Mobile App: Mobile application providing fishing regulations information for Gulf of America fisheries

Products and services

• Gulf Council Website Central public-facing platform providing access to federal fishing regulations, fishery management plans and amendments, meeting schedules, public comment submissions, stock assessments, and angler resources for the Gulf of America.
• Fish Rules Mobile App

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NOAA Fisheries (National Marine Fisheries Service)coreOthersThe Gulf Council advises NOAA Fisheries on managing federal fisheries in the Gulf of America. NOAA Fisheries is responsible for approving and implementing regulations recommended by the Council, and for enforcement of federal fishing rules.
• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation CommissioncoreOthersState agency responsible for Florida fishing regulations, including regulations in state waters and state regulations extended into federal waters.
• Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural ResourcescoreOthersState agency managing Alabama saltwater fishing regulations and enforcement, coordinating with federal regulations.
• Louisiana Department of Wildlife and FisheriescoreOthersState agency managing Louisiana fishing regulations and enforcement in state and federal waters.
• Mississippi Department of Marine ResourcescoreOthersState agency managing Mississippi marine resources including fishing regulations.
• Texas Parks and Wildlife DepartmentcoreOthersState agency managing Texas fishing regulations including those in state waters and coordination with federal regulations.
• Gulf States Marine Fisheries CommissioncoreOthersMulti-state fisheries management commission coordinating among the five Gulf states (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas) on fisheries issues of common concern.
• SEDAR (Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review)coreOthersCollaborative stock assessment process providing scientific evaluation of fish stocks in the Southeast U.S. The Gulf Council participates in SEDAR workshops and uses SEDAR assessments for management decisions.
• U.S. Coast GuardcoreOthersFederal enforcement agency responsible for enforcing fishing regulations in federal waters of the Gulf of America.
• MRIP (Marine Recreational Information Program)coreOthersNOAA program collecting recreational fishing catch and effort data used by the Council for stock assessments and management decisions.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission: Interstate commission coordinating fisheries management among the same five Gulf states the Gulf Council partners with; operates the GulfFIN Data Warehouse that supports the Council's data infrastructure and addresses state-waters coordination.

Broad incumbents

• NOAA Fisheries (National Marine Fisheries Service): Federal parent/oversight agency that approves and implements regulations recommended by the Gulf Council; manages national fisheries policy, science programs (including SEDAR/MRIP), and enforcement frameworks across all U.S. regional councils.

Direct peers

• Caribbean Fishery Management Council: Regional council managing federal fisheries in U.S. Caribbean waters under the same Magnuson-Stevens statutory framework, with comparable governance, amendment, and stock assessment processes as the Gulf Council.
• North Pacific Fishery Management Council: Regional council managing federal fisheries off Alaska with identical statutory mandate, FMP/amendment structure, and NOAA Fisheries relationship as the Gulf Council; comparable in governance and workflow.
• New England Fishery Management Council: Regional council managing federal fisheries off New England, sharing the same statutory framework, amendment process, stock assessment workflow, and public participation mechanisms as the Gulf Council.
• South Atlantic Fishery Management Council: One of the eight U.S. Regional Fishery Management Councils established under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, operating in adjacent federal waters off the U.S. Southeast coast with nearly identical statutory mandate, structure, and FMP/amendment processes as the Gulf Council.
• Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council: Another Magnuson-Stevens regional council managing federal fisheries in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic, with parallel governance structure, SEDAR participation, FMP/amendment workflow, and NOAA Fisheries relationship.
• Western Pacific Fishery Management Council: Regional council managing federal fisheries in the Western Pacific under the same Magnuson-Stevens mandate as the Gulf Council, sharing comparable governance, amendment, and science-based management workflows.
• Pacific Fishery Management Council: Regional council managing West Coast federal fisheries under the same Magnuson-Stevens framework as the Gulf Council, with parallel FMP development, amendment processes, and stakeholder engagement mechanisms.

Others

• Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: Multi-state commission analogous to the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, coordinating interstate fisheries management on the U.S. Atlantic coast; thematically related as a state-level coordination counterpart to regional federal councils.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCGN-u3-1SBDguwSVeBBsQGg
• Facebookfacebook.com/GulfCouncil
• Instagraminstagram.com/gulf_council
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-marine-fisheries-service

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council