RECREATIONAL SIZE AND POSSESSION LIMITS
It is illegal to sell any seafood taken with a recreational license.
Species | Minimum length in inches | Number of fish bag/possession |
| Spotted Seatrout | 15 TL | 15 |
| Red Drum* | 18 TL to 30 TL | 3 |
| Flounder | 12 TL | 10 |
| Sheepshead | 14 TL | 15 |
| Gray Snapper** | 12 TL | 10 |
| Tarpon*** | 75 FL | 1 per vessel |
| Tripletail | 18 TL | 3 |
| Cobia | 36 FL | 2 |
| Spanish Mackerel**** | 12 FL | 15 |
| King Mackerel**** | 24 FL | 3 |
| Black Drum | No Limit | No Limit |
| Sand Seatrout (White Trout) | No Limit | No Limit |
| Kingfish (Ground Mullet) | No Limit | No Limit |
| Florida Pompano | No Limit | No Limit |
| Striped Mullet | No Limit | No Limit |
*Recreational fishermen may retain only one red drum over 30 inches
**See additional details in Reef Fish section for harvest in aggregate with other snapper species
***May not remove fish from water if over 40” in length unless harvesting within specified limits
****For openings and closings of federally regulated fish and updated size limits, visit gulfcouncil.org
TL – Total Length – Straight line distance from tip of snout to tip of tail
FL – Fork Length – Straight line distance from tip of snout to fork of tail
| Species | Minimum length in inches | Number of fish bag/possession | Aggregate Total Bag/Possession |
| Red Snapper* | 16 TL | 2 | – |
| Greater Amberjack | 34 FL | 1 | – |
| Gray Triggerfish | 15 FL | 1 | 20 Reef Fish Aggregate |
| Vermilion Snapper | 10 TL | 10 | |
| Lane Snapper | 8 TL | 20 | |
| Almaco Jack | No Limit | ||
| Goldface Tilefish | No Limit | ||
| Anchor Tilefish | No Limit | ||
| Tilefish | No Limit | ||
| Blackline Tilefish | No Limit | ||
| Blueline Tilefish | No Limit | ||
| Mutton Snapper | 18 TL | 5 | 10 Snapper Aggregate |
| Gray, Schoolmaster, Cubera, Dog, Mahogany, and Yellowtail Snappers | 12 TL | 10 | |
| Queen, Blackfin, Silk, and Wenchman Snappers | No Limit | ||
| Warsaw Grouper | No Limit | 1 per vessel | 4 Grouper Aggregate |
| Red and Yellowfin Groupers | 20 TL | 4 | |
| Black Grouper | 24 TL | ||
| Scamp | 16 TL | ||
| Yellowmouth, Yellowedge, Misty, and Snowy Groupers | No Limit | ||
| Rock and Red Hind Groupers | No Limit | ||
| Gag Grouper | 24 TL | 2 | |
| Speckled Hind | No Limit | 1 per vessel | |
| Lesser Amberjack and Banded Rudderfish | 14 FL to 22 FL | 5 | 5 Fish Aggregate |
| Hogfish | 14 FL | 5 | – |
| Goliath Grouper | No Take | No Take | – |
| Nassau Grouper | No Take | No Take | – |
*Reporting is required for Red Snapper trips and landings through the Tails n’ Scales program
For openings and closings of federally regulated fish and updated size limits, visit gulfcouncil.org
TL – Total Length – Straight line distance from tip of snout to tip of tail
FL – Fork Length – Straight line distance from tip of snout to fork of tail
| Species | Minimum length in inches | Number of fish bag/possession |
| Yellowfin Tuna | 27 CFL | 3 |
| Bigeye Tuna | 27 CFL | No Limit |
| Swordfish | 47 Lower Jaw FL | No Limit |
| Blue Marlin | 99 Lower Jaw FL | No Limit |
| White Marlin | 66 Lower Jaw FL | No Limit |
| Sailfish | 63 Lower Jaw FL | No Limit |
| Longbill Spearfish | No Take | No Take |
| Dolphin (Mahi Mahi) | No Limit | No Limit |
For openings and closings of federally regulated fish and updated size limits, visit the Highly Migratory Species Compliance Guide, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/atlantic-highly-migratory-species/atlantic-highly-migratory-species-fishery-compliance-guides
FL – Fork Length – Straight line distance from tip of snout to fork of tail
CFL – Curved Fork Length – Tip of the upper jaw to the fork of tail measured along the contour of the middle of the body
| Species | Minimum length in inches | Number of fish bag/possession |
| Large Coastals and Pelagics – Blacktip, Spinner, Bull, Tiger, Lemon, Nurse, Scalloped Hammerhead, Great Hammerhead, Smooth Hammerhead, Shortfin Mako, Porbeagle, Thresher, Blue, Oceanic Whitetip | 37 TL | 1 per person up to 3 per vessel |
| Small Coastals – Atlantic Sharpnose, Finetooth, Blacknose, Bonnethead | 25 TL | 4 |
For openings and closings of federally regulated fish and updated size limits, visit the Highly Migratory Species Compliance Guide, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/atlantic-highly-migratory-species/atlantic-highly-migratory-species-fishery-compliance-guides
Current Shark Species Prohibited from harvest: Sand Tiger, Bigeye Sand tiger, Whale, Basking, White, Dusky, Bignose, Galapagos, Night, Caribbean Reef, Narrowtooth, Caribbean Sharpnose, Smalltail, Atlantic Angel, Longfin mako, Bigeye Thresher, Sevengill, Sixgill, Bigeye Sixgill, Sandbar, and Silky
| Blue Crab (Hard Shell) | 5* | No Limit |
| Blue Crab (Soft Shell) | No Limit | No Limit |
*As measured from the tip of one lateral spine across the back shell to the tip of the opposite lateral spine
Federal regulations may differ from state regulations. Please refer to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council for Federal Regulations: (888) 833-1844 | gulfcouncil.org.
The information on this page is an abstract of the rules and regulations in effect at the time of publishing. Fishermen are responsible for obeying fishing rules in full. Complete laws are available at the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, 1141 Bayview Avenue, Suite 101, Biloxi, Mississippi 39530 and on the agencies website, dmr.ms.gov.
For more information call the DMR at (228) 374-5000.
