The U.S. Department of Commerce has given three South Atlantic states permission to manage extended recreational red snapper fishing seasons in federal waters this fall after an early effort to run an extended state-managed summer season was blocked by a lawsuit filed by commercial fishers.
“NOAA is dedicated to working with our state partners, fishermen, and fishery managers to advance sustainable fisheries and strengthen the science that supports them,” NOAA Administrator Neil Jacobs said in a release. “These efforts enable us to test new, innovative approaches and improve recreational data collection to support the long-term sustainability of South Atlantic red snapper.”
The announcement is the latest development in a push by recreational anglers for more red snapper fishing opportunities. Recreational fishers have been increasingly frustrated by federal management of the South Atlantic red snapper fishery, which was listed as subject to overfishing in 2021. Federal managers have kept recreational fishing opportunities limited to just two days per year to allow the red snapper population to recover, but state officials and representatives claim the population is far larger than official estimates show. To evade federal limits and enable more fishing days, states have been asking the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to issue exempted fishing permits (EFPs) that authorize states to manage the federal fishery.
On 22 September, the Trump administration issued EFPs to Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, enabling the states to manage recreational fishing in federal waters off their respective coasts. The fall season will run for nearly two weeks from 9 October through 22 October. That season is notably shorter than the roughly month-long seasons the states had requested but far longer than the usual federally managed season, which only approved two days of fishing last year. If state and federal officials agree, a second season could open in December.
The governments have justified state management of the federal fishery as a data collection pilot project, with officials hoping data collected from anglers will show that the red snapper population is far larger and healthier than the official count.
“Recreational fishermen and the states play an indispensable role in helping us better understand and manage the South Atlantic red snapper fishery,” NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Eugenio Piñeiro Soler said in a release. "These pilot projects provide a great opportunity to strengthen our data and inform future management approaches.”
The EFP announcement comes more than four months after the Department of Commerce first issued EFPs authorizing the South Atlantic states – including North Carolina – to manage recreational red snapper seasons in federal waters. That effort, however, was stymied by a lawsuit filed by the Southeastern Fisheries Association, a commercial fishing industry advocacy group. The group claimed expanded recreational fishing would increase fishing pressure on South Atlantic red snapper, further hindering their recovery and therefore limiting future commercial harvests.
In May, a court issued an injunction blocking the summer seasons while it considered the lawsuits, and the states ultimately canceled their seasons, updating their EFP applications to address some of the issues raised in the lawsuit with the hope of allowing longer seasons in the fall.
North Carolina declined to reapply for an EFP; the state government was recently lambasted by a federal court for “overwhelming” evidence that it was not adequately managing or protecting coastal fisheries. Anglers in North Carolina will still be able to fish for red snapper in federal waters off the state’s coast this fall, with NOAA Fisheries offering a three-day federally managed season from 9 to 11 October.
