Florida Keys fishermen today will get their chance to voice their concerns about a series of proposed annual fishing limits for grouper and snapper, and the possible closing of large fishing areas from Florida to North Carolina.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is conducting a series of public hearings, including one today in Key Largo, about federal fisheries management measures proposed for 73 species. The measures will affect both commercial and recreational fishermen, council spokeswoman Kim Iverson said.

Prohibiting fishing for those species in large areas along the coast also is being considered, particularly to protect Warsaw grouper and speckled hind grouper, Iverson said.

The measures are in response to Congress' reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in 2007, which requires that overfishing be curtailed and stocks rebuilt.

The council is soliciting public comment on three separate amendments -- 17 A, 17 B and 18 -- to its Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan.

Amendment 17 A would address overfishing of red snapper by establishing annual catch limits, long-term measures to rebuild the stock and a monitoring program. Options include a closure of the fishery or large no-fishing zones for all snapper and grouper, Iverson said.

Amendment 17 B establishes annual catch limits for nine remaining species of snapper and grouper currently listed as overfished. Possible measures include annual catch limits for gag grouper, black grouper and red grouper, allocations for golden tilefish and a deepwater closure of waters greater than 240 feet, Iverson said.

Amendment 18 could limit participation in the commercial black sea bass and golden tilefish fisheries, extend jurisdictional boundaries for snapper and grouper fishing, separate snowy grouper quotas into regions and states, change the golden tilefish fishing season, provide regional and state management of the recreational gag grouper, and improve fisheries statistics, Iverson said.

Stock Island fish house owner Peter Bacle calls the proposed annual catch limits the first step toward individual fishing quotas.

"That has been the pattern," said Bacle, who owns Stock Island Lobster Co. "We just got the [individual fishing quotas] from the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Council, and the Keys practically got nothing. ... All of the stuff they are proposing are things that I have long been against."

The Gulf council recently approved an individual grouper fishing quota that goes into effect Jan. 1. Many Keys fishermen were not happy with the quotas.

Only fishermen who landed 8,000 pounds or more a year were allowed to vote, Bacle said. The vote was weighted, with owners of vessels that have larger annual catches receiving more votes than those with smaller catches, Key West commercial fisherman Lee Starling said.

South Atlantic council member Roy Crabtree, who also serves as National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Region director, said individual quotas and annual catch limits are "totally separate." However, the annual catch limits could lead to seasonal closures, he said.

Also irritating Keys fishermen is the fact that the South Atlantic council is meeting on the same date, but in a different location, as the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. The latter is holding a workshop in Key West today on the implementation of an individual grouper fishing quota program.

tohara@keysnews.com