Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL) and members of the House Committee on Natural Resources today advanced legislation to strengthen fishing communities and increase flexibility in federal fisheries, including improvements to the Red Snapper fishery.

The Committee action comes on the same day that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced this year’s Red Snapper season for recreational fishermen in federal water will only be 10 days.

The bill, which reauthorizes the Manguson-Stevens Act, includes three provisions from Congressman Byrne designed to increase Gulf state control over Red Snapper and do away with NOAA’s flawed science. Specifically, the bill would:

• Repeal inflexible quotas for the Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper fishery
• Extend state water boundaries for each Gulf state to nine nautical miles
• Remove data collection and stock assessments from federal control

Byrne said: “Today’s announcement of a 10 day Red Snapper season just further reinforces the fact that NOAA is using flawed science to calculate the number of Red Snapper in the Gulf. Despite the bad news, I’m pleased to report that my language was included in the Magnuson-Stevens Act reauthorization, which passed out of House Committee on Natural Resources today. This bill would take power away from the federal government and empower the Gulf states to have more control over Red Snapper.

“Today is just one step in a long process of getting our fishermen some much-needed relief. I will continue to work with my Gulf Coast colleagues and House leadership to get this legislation brought up for a vote in the House as quickly as possible.”

Congressman Byrne has made fighting for changes to the Red Snapper fishery one of his top priorities in Congress. He has introduced standalone legislation, known as the Red Snapper Regulatory Reform Act, that would give Gulf States more control over the fishery and is dedicated to continuing these efforts.

FISH ON!