The south atlantic fishery management council (safmc) developed the safmc release project through safmcs citizen science program

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded $137,356 to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) under the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (CFDA 11.474) for the SAFMC Release Project, a citizen science initiative operating from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026. The project provides commercial, for-hire, and recreational fishers with a streamlined methodology to submit photographic documentation and biological data on released fish species, including shallow-water groupers (black, gag, red, scamp, yellowfin, and yellowmouth groupers; red hind; rock hind; coney; and graysby) and red snapper. Data collection encompasses fish length, release location, depth caught, condition, and use of barotrauma mitigation techniques.

SAFMC will execute targeted outreach and recruitment strategies to maximize participant engagement, including in-person community engagement and utilization of the National Saltwater Angler Registry (NSAR) to recruit private recreational anglers in Georgia and South Carolina. The collected biological information will generate datasets to improve stock assessment models and inform associated fishery management considerations. This project aligns with the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act's objective to support interstate conservation and management of Atlantic coastal fishery resources through data collection necessary for effective implementation and enforcement of fishery management plans.

IT provides a streamlined approach for fishers to provide a photograph of released fish along with details such as length, release location and depth caught, condition, and use of barotrauma mitigation techniques. The project focuses on collecting data on the size of released fish and information that helps characterize how many released fish survive. The safmc will continue opportunistic to use outreach strategies to assist with participant recruitment and relationship building within the fishing community, focusing on in-person outreach that has been critical for project participation. Additionally, IT will use data from the national saltwater angler registry (nsar) as a recruitment tool for private recreational anglers in georgia (GA) and south carolina (SC). Staff will continue to collect biological information from the commercial, for-hire, and recreational fisheries on released shallow-water groupers (black, GAG, red, scamp, yellowfin and yellowmouth groupers; red hind; rock hind; coney and graysby) and red snapper. The collected data could be useful in developing improved stock assessment models and associated management considerations.