Recreational Size and Creel Limits for Ala. State Waters
(Includes inshore waters and Gulf Waters out to 3 miles offshore)
Updated August 31, 2005
SPECIES |
SIZE LIMIT |
DAILY CREEL LIMIT |
Spotted Seatrout* |
14" min. TL |
10 per person |
| Red Drum** |
16" min. - 26" max |
3 per person |
| Cobia (Ling) |
33" min. FL |
2 per person |
| King Mackerel |
24" min. FL |
2 per person |
| Spanish Mackerel |
no size limit |
15 per person |
| Florida Pompano |
12" min. TL |
3 per person |
| Gag Grouper*** |
22" min TL |
***Grouper Aggregate |
| Red Grouper*** |
20" min TL |
***Only 2 Red groupers are allowed in the 5 fish Grouper Aggregate |
| Black Grouper*** |
22" min TL |
***Grouper Aggregate |
| Yellowfin Grouper*** |
20" min TL |
***Grouper Aggregate |
| Scamp*** |
16" min TL |
***Grouper Aggregate |
| Greater Amberjack |
28" min FL |
1 per person |
| Striped Bass**** |
16" min TL |
2 per person |
| Gray Triggerfish |
12" min TL |
Reef fish aggregate***** |
| Flounder |
12" min TL |
No creel limit |
| Tripletail (Blackfish) |
16" min TL |
3 per person |
| Lesser Amberjack |
14" - 22" FL |
No Creel Limit |
| Banded Rudderfish |
14" - 22" FL |
No Creel Limit |
| Yellowfin Tuna |
27" min CFL |
No Creel Limit |
| Bigeye Tuna |
27" min CFL |
No Creel Limit |
* Spotted Seatrout (speckled trout) - no undersized fish allowed.
** Red Drum (redfish) - 1 fish may exceed maximum size.
*** Mixed species grouper aggregate creel limit (including Gag): 5 per person
**** Only two Striped Bass are allowed within MRD Jurisdiction.
***** There is a twenty (20) fish aggregate creel limit for reef fish species for which there is no other bag limit. (for example, grunts, porgies, gray triggerfish, beeliner, Lane snapper, etc).
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The recreational red snapper fishery operates under a 4.47 million pound quota (unchanged since 1996). The recreational red snapper season is open continuously from April 21 through October 31 of each year. Based on NMFS projections, this is the amount of time in which the recreational quota will be filled under a 4-fish creel limit and 16 inch total length minimum size limit.
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| Red Snapper |
16" TL |
4 per person |
| Vermillon Snapper (beeliner) |
10" TL |
Reef fish aggregate***** |
| Lane |
8" TL |
Reef Fish aggregate***** |
| Gray (mangrove, black) |
12" TL |
10 per person |
Tarpon |
60" TL |
$50.00 tag required to possess, kill or harvest each tarpon. |
Sharks |
| Atlantic Sharpnose |
none |
2 per person per day |
| All Other Shark Species |
54" min FL |
1 per person per day |
Alabama has instituted new regulations pertaining to the harvest of shark species for commercial and recreational purposes. Click here for info provided to aid anglers in the identification of common species of sharks which may occur in Alabama's coastal waters. |
| Prohibited Species: Goliath grouper (jewfish), Nassau grouper, Atlantic angel shark, Bigeye thresher, Dusky, Longfin mako, Sand tiger, Basking, Whale, White, Nurse, Smalltail, Smalltooth sawfish, Largetooth sawfish, Spotted eagle ray, Atlantic manta. |
| All fishing regulations are subject to change. Check with the AL Marine Resources Division before going fishing. |
Mississippi and Florida also require saltwater fishing licenses. Florida's state waters extend 9 miles from the coastline. You can be fined for straying into another state's waters with fish caught in Alabama or federal waters. |
| State waters extend into the Gulf of Mexico 3 miles south of Alabama's coastline from Florida almost due west along the Fort Morgan peninsula and Dauphin Island to Mississippi; however, the line bulges southward 3 miles from Sand Island. A rule of thumb leaving Mobile Bay: if you are south of the Farewell Buoy, you are in federal waters. |
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Fish Measurement |
Catch and Release Techniques |
The following methods should be used to determine the length of a fish:
- Place fish on a flat surface with jaw closed.
For Total Length (TL), squeeze tail together or turn it in such a way to obtain longest length at tip of tail.
For Fork Length (FL), measure in a straight line from the tip of snout to the deepest notch in tail.
For Curved Fork Length (CFL), measure with a flexible rule from the tip of the upper jaw to the deepest notch in tail. This measurement is used for Tuna species only.
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