FLORIDA – NOAA Fisheries announced changes to the management of red snapper in the South Atlantic, including expanding the one-day fishing event to two days.
The changes were announced on Friday through a final rule for Amendment 59 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region.
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According to NOAA Fisheries, Amendment 59 and the final rule modify management of South Atlantic red snapper by revising the overfishing limit, acceptable biological catch, annual catch limits, and the proxy for determining red snapper overfishing.
A recent population assessment found that while the red snapper population is undergoing overfishing, it is not yet overfished.
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Local Rep. John Rutherford, who introduced the Red Snapper Act, sees this decision as a positive step for Florida.
“The release of Amendment 59 by NOAA, without the proposed three-month bottom fishing closure, is a major victory for Florida, especially for our more than 4 million anglers, coastal communities, and families whose livelihoods depend on reliable access to these waters and fisheries,” Rutherford wrote in a statement.
During the development of Amendment 59, NOAA Fisheries said it held multiple in-person hearings and received many comments from the public, most of which opposed all or part of a discard reduction season proposed in the draft amendment to increase commercial and recreational red snapper catch limits and the recreational fishing season length.
In response to that input, and because a new red snapper stock assessment is underway, NOAA Fisheries said it removed the discard reduction area closure and several other proposed actions from further consideration.
Officials said the decision to remove those proposed actions will give the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council another opportunity to consider other management measures to reduce dead discards and increase red snapper fishing opportunities in a future amendment through an open, public process.
This year’s commercial red snapper season will open on July 14 and will close at 12:01 a.m. on January 1, 2026, unless the commercial catch limit is met or projected to be met before this date.
Recreational fishing will be allowed for two days this year on July 11 and 12.