JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Friday marks the first day of the two-day red snapper season in the Atlantic. News4JAX spent the day on the water with members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation and the American Sportfishing Association (ASA).
Captain Terry LaCosse of the Amelia Anglers has been fishing with his son, TD, for 50 years. With only few opportunities to fish and keep red snapper off of the Fernandina Beach coast, they’re reeling in whatever they can, which wasn’t much.
LaCosse said there’s plenty of red snapper out there, but they didn’t have as much luck as other anglers.
“We went about 45 miles out to a spot a month ago, we had a buddy with an FWC permit,” Mike Brown, a recreational angler, said. “As you can see, it paid out.”
Martha Guyas of the ASA said the fish are important to the local economy and that we’ll see longer seasons soon.
“Governor DeSantis has indicated that he wants to take over management of Atlantic red snapper, like they’ve done on the gulf. The gulf has a 128-day season compared to two days here so I’m hopeful for that in the future,” Guyas said.
The snapper definitely knew what today was because we didn’t catch anything with LaCosse and the ASA.
“It’s called fishing, not catching,” Guyas said.
Local Congressmen John H. Rutherford (FL-05) and Buddy Carter (GA-01) launched the South Atlantic Red Snapper Task Force. It’s dedicated to improving management of red snapper stock and support enhanced data collection efforts to ensure longer, more predictable fishing seasons.
“Every local angler I talk to says there are more red snapper in the South Atlantic than they’ve ever seen before…In the Gulf of America, thanks to state management, Florida announced a record 126-day season. It’s time to hand over the South Atlantic fishery management to Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina,” Rutherford said.
