News

Gulf of Mexico States Take the Helm of Private Recreational Red Snapper Seasons

        The recreational fishing and boating community praised final action taken by NOAA Fisheries to implement state management for private anglers fishing for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. Today’s action cements the management changes found in “Reef Fish Amendment 50: State Management for Recreational Red Snapper” agreed to by the […]

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From the Head

From the Head: Red Snapper State Management

Video

Big news for red snapper anglers: the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council—one of the eight councils that represents the National Marine Fisheries Service within NOAA—voted to delegate management authority over recreational red snapper harvest to each of the five Gulf States in federal waters. In this episode of “From the Head,” Sid Dobrin takes […]

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News

2016 Gulf Recreational Red Snapper State Season Opens Weekends Starting May 7

The 2016 recreational red snapper season in Gulf of Mexico state waters opens Saturdays and Sundays in May starting May 7. On May 28, the season will open continuously through July 10. The season will also reopen for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in September and October, and on Labor Day. This would provide for a […]

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News

Gulf Anglers Meet to Set Future Course on Red Snapper Management

Representatives from the recreational fishing community recently met for their second in-person meeting to plan strategies for addressing current and future Gulf of Mexico red snapper management challenges. The two-day meeting, facilitated by Florida State University’s FCRC Consensus Center, produced constructive discussion on Gulf red snapper and reef fish management as a whole, as well […]

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News

2015 Gulf Red Snapper Season Closes after this Weekend

Halloween (Oct. 31) and Nov. 1 are the last days the recreational red snapper season for Gulf state waters will be open in 2015. State waters in the Gulf are from shore to 9 nautical miles. Federal waters extend from where state waters end out to about 200 nautical miles. This year’s 70-day state-waters season […]

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News

NOAA Seeks Public Comment on a Draft Environmental Impact Statement to Reallocate the Commercial and Recreational Harvest of Red Snapper in the Gulf of Mexico

NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on a draft environmental impact statement for Amendment 28 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) is considering an action to reallocate the red snapper harvest between the commercial and recreational sectors. The […]

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News

Amberjack Harvest Closes June 1 in Florida Gulf State Waters

The recreational harvest of greater amberjack in Gulf of Mexico state waters closes June 1 and will remain closed through July 31, reopening Aug. 1. Seasonal harvest closures help conserve Florida’s valuable greater amberjack populations and improve these fisheries for the future. Learn more about recreational fishing at MyFWC.com/Fishing by clicking on “Saltwater” and “Recreational […]

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News

Study of Injuries Suffered During Catch & Release of Red Snapper Boosted by Fisheries Innovation Grant

The Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation (CSSC) at the Harte Research Institute (HRI) for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi has been awarded a federal Fisheries Innovation Grant totaling $209,326 to study pressure-related injuries often suffered by Red Snapper during catch and release fishing. The funding also will continue research to […]

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News

Gulf State Recreational Red Snapper Season Opens Memorial Day Weekend

The recreational red snapper season for Gulf state waters opens to harvest Memorial Day weekend. Red snapper is a popular species that has a strong economic impact for many coastal communities throughout Florida. The 2015 season will start the Saturday before Memorial Day (May 23) and run through July 12, closing July 13. This season […]

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News

House Committee Passes Bill to Give States More Control Over Red Snapper

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 […]

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News

NOAA Announces 10 Day Red Snapper Season

NOAA has just announced the 2015 recreational red snapper season: ten days beginning June 1, 2015. The for hire season is slated to last 44 days. Here’s the NOAA Bulletin: On May 1, 2015, NOAA Fisheries will publish a rule implementing an increase to the commercial and recreational quotas for red snapper in the Gulf […]

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News

CSC Members, State Agencies Discuss State-Based Solution to Red Snapper Management

Yesterday, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) hosted a Breakfast Briefing on Capitol Hill on the topic, “The Solution to Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper: State-based Management.” Ten Members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC), state fish and wildlife agency representatives, and CSF partners gathered to discuss the current challenges and a path forward to resolving […]

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News

Gulf Council Update to Convene its Ad Hoc Red Snapper Charter For-hire Advisory Panel

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s Ad Hoc Red Snapper Charter For-hire Advisory Panel will meet Wednesday, May 13, 2015, from 8:30 am – 5:00 pm at the Council office in Tampa, Florida.   The Panel will review information relevant to the charter-for-hire component of the reef fish fishery and discuss management approaches for […]

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News

Snook Harvest to Close in Gulf State and Federal Waters

Snook will close to all harvest in Gulf state, federal and inland waters, including all of Monroe County and Everglades National Park, starting May 1. Seasonal harvest closures conserve Florida’s valuable snook populations and help sustain and improve the fishery for the future. Snook is open to harvest in Atlantic state, federal and inland waters, […]

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News

NOAA Establishes Separate Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper Recreational Quotas for Private and For-Hire Fishermen

On April 10, 2015, NOAA Fisheries approved Amendment 40 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources (Amendment 40) of the Gulf of Mexico submitted by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). A final rule published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2015 (80 FR 22422), with an effective date of May […]

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News

Gulf States Unveil Solution to Red Snapper Management

In a move long-awaited by the recreational fishing and boating community, the directors of the state fish and wildlife agencies from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas announced an agreement for state-based management of Gulf of Mexico red snapper, which in recent years has experienced increasing privatization of this public resource and decreasing recreational fishing […]

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News

FWC to Hold Public Workshops on Gulf Red Snapper Season

At its meeting Feb. 5 in Jacksonville, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) directed staff to host several workshops prior to the April Commission meeting in an effort to gather additional stakeholder input on the 2015 recreational red snapper season in Gulf state waters. The 2015 season preferred by the Commissioners that will […]

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Gulf Council Meeting Report

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council met in Point Clear, Alabama, January 26–29, 2015, to discuss a number of fishery issues, including regional management for recreational red snapper and red snapper allocation. Here are some of the actions taken by the Council last week. Red Snapper Update: The Council heard an update on the […]

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News

Gulf Council Members Urge Commerce Secretary to Reject Amendment 40

Eight representatives to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council have submitted a minority report to the National Marine Fisheries Service that lays out an extensive series of objections to a highly controversial management plan for Gulf red snapper. The report focuses on significant shortcomings in the development and presentation of Amendment 40, a measure that […]

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News

Gulf Red Snapper Workshop in St. Petersburg, August 11

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is hosting a Gulf of Mexico red snapper workshop August 11, 2014 in St. Petersburg, Florida for recreational stakeholders to discuss state and federal management of recreational red snapper. The workshop will also explore potential future approaches to managing this fishery in an effort to ensure optimal […]

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