Catch limits for Southeast coast to be considered

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — As the nation works to end overfishing in its waters, federal regulators meet in South Carolina this week to take up annual catch limits for species of fish caught off the Southeast coast.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, which regulates fishing between 3 miles and 200 miles offshore from North Carolina to Florida, meets Tuesday in Charleston.

The agenda includes annual catch limits for species such as king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, grouper and dolphin, among others.

While many of those are not overfished, the limits are designed to maintain adequate stocks of each species before there is a problem.

The Magnuson-Stevens Act, the nation’s main fisheries law reauthorized by Congress five years ago, instructed fishery councils to work to end overfishing.