Alabama’s Gulf coast has some of the most accessible offshore fishing on the Gulf, with a nearshore reef system and deep blue water within a day’s run. The Marine Resources Division describes its artificial reef program as the largest in the United States, with public reefs from inshore waters out to 55 nautical miles. If you run fishing in Alabama out of Orange Beach, Gulf Shores or Dauphin Island, this page lists the size, bag, season and gear rules for each species, along with the agency page that governs it. Rules for other Gulf and Atlantic states are on their own pages.
Alabama Fishing Official Government Organizations
State and federal authority divide at a line that depends on the species. For Gulf reef fish (snappers, groupers, jacks, triggerfish and tilefish), Alabama state waters extend 9 nautical miles from the beach, including Pelican and Sand Island. For every other species they extend 3 nautical miles. Beyond that line are the federal waters of the Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico), where the rules are written in 50 CFR part 622, the federal reef fish regulations.
Alabama waters open and close to Gulf reef fish at the same time as federal waters, except for red snapper, whose state season the Marine Resources Division opens and closes by press release. Fish brought into Alabama from federal waters or another state must meet that jurisdiction’s size, bag and possession limits. If the fish has no limit there, Alabama’s limits apply, as set out in the Alabama Administrative Code rule. Finfish must stay whole, with head and fins intact, through landing. Sharks, swordfish and tunas may be landed in the form federal rules allow.
- ADCNR Marine Resources Division – Sets and enforces saltwater rules in Alabama waters, including the red snapper season, the Gulf Reef Fish Endorsement and Snapper Check. Offices are on Dauphin Island (251-861-2882) and in Gulf Shores (251-968-7576). The division also sells Alabama saltwater fishing licenses (resident annual $30.05, Gulf Reef Fish Endorsement $10).
- Gulf of America Fishery Management Council – Writes the federal management plans for Gulf reef fish and coastal migratory pelagics that set limits beyond the state line.
- NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office – Implements and announces federal Gulf rules, including in-season closures through Fishery Bulletins.
- NOAA Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Management Division – Manages tunas, billfish, swordfish and sharks, and issues the federal HMS permit portal access you need to fish for them in federal waters.
Passengers on a licensed Alabama Commercial Party Boat do not need a personal saltwater license when fishing from it. Charter owners and operators carry the Gulf Reef Fish Endorsement. Boats with federal for-hire permits follow the federal red snapper for-hire season.
Alabama Offshore Fishing Regulations by Species
Anyone fishing for or possessing fish in Alabama saltwater needs a saltwater license. Residents and nonresidents under 16 are exempt, as are residents 65 and older. Alabama residents 16 and older who need no annual license use the free Saltwater Angler Registration. That covers those 65 and older, lifetime license holders and pier-only anglers. All licenses expire August 31.
Anglers 16 and older need the Gulf Reef Fish Endorsement to take, possess or try to take any Gulf reef fish: all snappers, groupers, greater and lesser amberjack, almaco jack, banded rudderfish, gray triggerfish, hogfish and tilefish. It applies on top of every license type.
Red snapper, gray triggerfish and greater amberjack landed in Alabama go on one Snapper Check report per vessel trip, filed before the fish are landed. File in the Outdoor AL app or online. An MRD interview or an enforcement inspection does not count as a report. Possessing these 3 species in state waters while Alabama’s season is closed is prohibited.
Gulf reef fish taken with natural bait require non-stainless steel circle hooks. In federal waters, a dehooking device must be on board and used. For descending device or venting tool requirements, see NOAA’s release-mortality measures.
In the federal Alabama Special Management Zone, charter vessels, headboats and vessels without a commercial Gulf reef fish permit may use only hook and line with 3 or fewer hooks per line, plus spearfishing gear.
Three terms recur below. Reef fish with no other bag limit share a 20-fish per-person aggregate. Groupers share a 4-fish aggregate. Federally, gray, cubera, yellowtail and mutton snapper share a 10-fish aggregate. For length, total length runs from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail, and fork length runs from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail. Lower jaw to fork is used for billfish and swordfish, and curved fork length is used for tunas.
MRD publishes public reef coordinates for each zone as GPX, KMZ and XLS files. You can view reef zones and Chart Contours in Breakpoint. Chart layers are not for navigation. Check the agency page before you fish.
red snapper
Red snapper is the most closely managed reef fish in Alabama. State waters run to 9 nautical miles. Read more in our red snapper guide.
- Length16 inches total length. Federal waters: a private angler’s fish may be no smaller than 14 inches total length.
- Bag limit2 per person per day. Federal waters: captain and crew of a charter vessel or headboat keep zero.
- SeasonPrivate, shore and state-licensed charter: MRD sets the season each year, and it runs 7 days a week until Alabama’s quota is reached or the year ends. MRD announces the close. Federally permitted for-hire boats: closed January 1 to May 31. NOAA announces the for-hire season by temporary rule.
- Gear and permitsSaltwater license or free registry, Gulf Reef Fish Endorsement and a Snapper Check report. A Commercial Party Boat without federal for-hire permits follows the state season and fishes only inside 9 nautical miles. A vessel with recreationally caught red snapper may not travel through state waters while the state season is closed.
MRD season closures and notices
gray triggerfish
Gray triggerfish is a reef fish managed to the 9 nautical mile line. See the gray triggerfish guide.
- Length15 inches fork length.
- Bag limit1 per person per day, inside the 20-fish reef aggregate.
- SeasonClosed January 1 through the end of February, and June 1 through July 31. State waters open when federal waters open. NOAA may close early when the catch target is projected to be reached.
- Gear and permitsGulf Reef Fish Endorsement, circle hooks with natural bait, Snapper Check report.
NOAA Fishery Bulletins
greater amberjack
Greater amberjack is a reef fish managed to the 9 nautical mile line. See the greater amberjack guide.
- Length34 inches fork length.
- Bag limit1 per person per day. Federal waters: captain and crew of a charter vessel or headboat keep zero.
- SeasonClosed January 1 through August 31 and November 1 through December 31. NOAA closes the September to October season early when the catch target is projected to be reached. State waters follow the federal season.
- Gear and permitsGulf Reef Fish Endorsement, circle hooks, Snapper Check report.
NOAA Fishery Bulletins
gag
Gag is a grouper and a reef fish, managed to the 9 nautical mile line.
- Length24 inches total length.
- Bag limit2 per person per day within the 4-grouper aggregate. Federal waters: captain and crew of a charter vessel or headboat keep zero groupers.
- SeasonClosed January 1 through August 31. Opens September 1. NOAA ends it when the catch target is projected to be reached, and the end date is announced in the Federal Register. State waters open when federal waters open.
- Gear and permitsGulf Reef Fish Endorsement, circle hooks with natural bait, dehooking device in federal waters.
NOAA Fishery Bulletins
red grouper and other groupers
This entry covers red, black, yellowfin, scamp, warsaw and the deepwater groupers. Goliath and Nassau grouper are prohibited.
- LengthTotal length: red grouper 20 inches, black 24, yellowfin 20, scamp 16. State waters: snowy, yellowedge, yellowmouth and warsaw have no minimum size.
- Bag limit4 groupers per person per day combined, no more than 2 red and 2 gag. Warsaw grouper: state waters, 1 per person and 1 per vessel. Federal waters, 1 per vessel, and no more than 1 speckled hind per vessel.
- SeasonNo fixed federal recreational closure for red grouper. State waters open when federal waters open.
- Gear and permitsGulf Reef Fish Endorsement, circle hooks with natural bait. Goliath and Nassau grouper prohibited.
eCFR 622.38
vermilion snapper
Vermilion snapper, also called beeliner, is a reef fish managed to the 9 nautical mile line.
- Length10 inches total length.
- Bag limitState waters: 10 per person per day. Federal waters: counts in the 20-fish aggregate, no more than 10 vermilion.
- SeasonNo closed recreational season federally. State waters open when federal waters open.
- Gear and permitsGulf Reef Fish Endorsement, circle hooks.
eCFR 622.38
gray snapper
Gray snapper is also called mangrove or black snapper. Lane and mutton snapper are noted in the bullets.
- LengthGray snapper: 12 inches total length. Lane snapper: state waters 10 inches total length, federal waters 8 inches total length. Mutton snapper: federal waters 18 inches total length.
- Bag limitState waters: gray snapper 10 per person per day. Lane counts in the 20-fish aggregate. Federal waters: gray, cubera, yellowtail and mutton share a 10-fish aggregate, with no more than 5 mutton. Lane counts in the 20-fish aggregate.
- SeasonNo closed recreational season federally.
- Gear and permitsGulf Reef Fish Endorsement, circle hooks.
eCFR 622.37
lesser amberjack and banded rudderfish
Both are reef fish managed to the 9 nautical mile line.
- Length14 to 22 inches fork length. 22 inches is the maximum.
- Bag limitState waters: counts in the 20-fish aggregate. Federal waters: 5 combined.
- SeasonNo closed recreational season federally.
- Gear and permitsGulf Reef Fish Endorsement, circle hooks.
eCFR 622.38
almaco jack
Almaco jack is a reef fish managed to the 9 nautical mile line.
- LengthAlabama lists no minimum size.
- Bag limit20 per person per day.
- SeasonState waters open when federal waters open.
- Gear and permitsGulf Reef Fish Endorsement, circle hooks.
Alabama saltwater size and creel limits
tilefish
This entry covers blueline, golden and goldface tilefish, reef fish managed to the 9 nautical mile line.
- LengthNo minimum size.
- Bag limit20 per person per day within the reef aggregate.
- SeasonNo closed recreational season federally.
- Gear and permitsGulf Reef Fish Endorsement, circle hooks.
Alabama saltwater size and creel limits
king mackerel
King mackerel is a coastal migratory pelagic, managed to the 3 nautical mile state line. See the king mackerel guide.
- Length24 inches fork length.
- Bag limit3 per person.
- SeasonNo closed recreational season.
- Gear and permitsFor-hire vessels need the federal charter vessel/headboat permit for Gulf coastal migratory pelagic fish. On charter or headboat trips longer than 30 hours, with 2 licensed operators and trip receipts, up to 2 daily bag limits may be kept.
eCFR 622.382
Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel is a coastal migratory pelagic, managed to the 3 nautical mile state line.
- LengthState waters: Alabama lists no minimum size. Federal waters: 12 inches fork length.
- Bag limit15 per person.
- SeasonNo closed recreational season.
- Gear and permitsFederal for-hire vessels need the same coastal migratory pelagic permit as for king mackerel. The 30-hour trip allowance applies here too.
eCFR 622.380
cobia
Cobia is a coastal migratory pelagic, managed to the 3 nautical mile state line. See the cobia guide.
- Length36 inches fork length.
- Bag limit1 per person per day, not to exceed 2 per vessel. Federally, that is 2 per vessel per trip.
- SeasonNo closed recreational season.
- Gear and permitsFor-hire vessels need the federal coastal migratory pelagic charter/headboat permit.
Alabama saltwater size and creel limits
mahi-mahi
Mahi-mahi has no Gulf size or bag limit under the federal rules. See the mahi-mahi guide.
- LengthAlabama lists no size limit.
- Bag limitAlabama lists no creel limit. The federal dolphin and wahoo rules cover the Atlantic only.
- SeasonSee the agency page.
- Gear and permitsSaltwater license. Charter passengers are covered by a licensed Commercial Party Boat.
Alabama saltwater size and creel limits
wahoo
Wahoo has no Gulf size or bag limit under the federal rules. See the wahoo guide.
- LengthAlabama lists no size limit.
- Bag limitAlabama lists no creel limit. The federal dolphin and wahoo rules cover the Atlantic only.
- SeasonSee the agency page.
- Gear and permitsSaltwater license. Charter passengers are covered by a licensed Commercial Party Boat.
Alabama saltwater size and creel limits
blackfin tuna and albacore
Alabama sets no size or creel limit for these tunas.
- LengthAlabama lists no size limit.
- Bag limitAlabama lists no creel limit.
- SeasonSee the agency page.
- Gear and permitsFederal HMS permit required in federal waters.
NOAA HMS permits
yellowfin tuna
Yellowfin tuna is a highly migratory species managed by NOAA’s HMS Management Division.
- Length27 inches curved fork length.
- Bag limit3 per person per day.
- SeasonSee the agency page.
- Gear and permitsFederal HMS permit required in federal waters.
NOAA HMS permits
bigeye tuna
Bigeye tuna is a highly migratory species managed by NOAA’s HMS Management Division.
- Length27 inches curved fork length.
- Bag limitAlabama lists no creel limit.
- SeasonSee the agency page.
- Gear and permitsFederal HMS permit required in federal waters.
NOAA HMS permits
blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish
These billfish are highly migratory species managed by NOAA’s HMS Management Division.
- LengthLower jaw to fork: blue marlin 99 inches, white marlin 66 inches, sailfish 63 inches.
- Bag limitAlabama lists no creel limit.
- SeasonSee the agency page.
- Gear and permitsFederal HMS permit required in federal waters.
NOAA HMS permits
swordfish
Swordfish may be landed in the form federal rules allow.
- Length47 inches lower jaw to fork.
- Bag limit1 per person and 4 per vessel.
- SeasonSee the agency page.
- Gear and permitsFederal HMS permit required in federal waters.
NOAA HMS permits
sharks
Sharks are highly migratory species managed by NOAA’s HMS Management Division. Shortfin and longfin mako, white, whale, dusky and sand tiger are among the prohibited species.
- LengthAtlantic sharpnose and bonnethead: no minimum size. Great, smooth and scalloped hammerhead: 78 inches fork length. All other sharks: 54 inches fork length, or 30 inches dressed length (head and tail removed).
- Bag limit1 per person per day.
- SeasonSee the agency page.
- Gear and permitsNon-offset, non-stainless steel circle hooks with natural bait. Federal HMS permit required in federal waters. Sandbar sharks only with a NOAA sandbar shark research permit.
NOAA HMS permits
