South Carolina panel approves annual catch limits

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Federal regulators have agreed to annual catch limits for a variety of species of fish caught off the south Atlantic coast.

The action came Tuesday during a meeting of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council that regulates fishing between three miles and 200 miles offshore from North Carolina to Florida.

The rules are part of an effort by fishery councils around the nation to prevent overfishing of the nation’s seafood stocks.

For king mackerel, the annual limit was set at 10.5 million pounds, with a commercial quota of about 3.9 million pounds, up slightly from current levels.

The annual catch limit for Spanish mackerel was reduced to 5.7 million pounds from the current 7 million pounds.