DESTIN, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Monday that this year’s Gulf Red Snapper season will be extended to 126 days, starting on Memorial Day weekend.
DeSantis said during a news conference in Destin that this will be the longest Gulf Red Snapper season in Florida’s history, beating last year’s record of 103 days.
“This is highly anticipated by Floridians every single year. We know that folks from all over the Northwest Florida love to do the red snapper. We also know that the local economy loves it as well,” DeSantis said.
Press play above to watch DeSantis’ announcement
This year’s Gulf Red Snapper season will begin on Memorial Day weekend, which is May 24-26. Then it will reopen June 1 to July 3, including Father’s Day and 4th of July.
There will also be additional fishing days during the fall for Florida families and visitors from Sept. 1-14. Then, transition to three-day weekends through the end of the year, including Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
DeSantis said that while this extension is good news, there is still work to do when it comes to Atlantic.
“I’m working with President Trump to get that designation for the East Coast of Florida too. Because if we could manage Atlantic Red Snapper, we’d be able to provide a lot of great benefits there too,” DeSantis said.
Currently, the Atlantic Red Snapper season is only one day after it was reduced due to overfishing concerns, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).