FLORIDA – After a federal court halted Florida’s newly extended recreational red snapper season just a day before the fishing period was set to begin, Gov. Ron DeSantis called the ruling “disrespectful” and a “bad decision.”
The season, which has been highly anticipated by anglers, was scheduled to begin Memorial Day weekend and continue through June before reopening during three October weekends.
RELATED: Red Snapper fishing season put on pause one day before Florida anglers set to hit the water
But a ruling Thursday by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia halted all activities under the exempted fishing permits, or EFPs, for federal waters in the South Atlantic.
“How disrespectful is it to rule when people have already made plans to come down and to do this?” DeSantis said during a news conference on Friday in Jacksonville. “There’s a lot of people that, that (extended season) may have been the determining factor in them doing Memorial Day weekend on the east coast of Florida, then maybe they would have gone somewhere else. I just think it’s really disrespectful to try to pull the rug out from under them, especially given there’s so many fish in the sea.”
DeSantis pointed out that anglers can still fish for red snapper in state waters, which extend to 3 nautical miles off the coast.
Florida wildlife officials modified the state’s recreational red snapper fishing rules after the federal court’s order.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission posted online that while it opposes “this delay tactic,” it has also rescinded an executive order expanding red snapper fishing in state waters.
“Doing so will allow for the public to carry on with their plans on the water, including the ability to catch red snapper in state waters,” the FWC stated in its release. “As authorized by Florida Administrative Code, the recreational bag limit will default to 2 red snapper per person with a 20-inch size limit and remain in effect until further notice.”
DeSantis has long pushed for the federal government to allow longer red snapper seasons in the Atlantic to match the expanded season on Florida’s west coast, where the state manages the red snapper population.
“You know who brought the charge were the commercial fishermen. They don’t want recreational anglers to be able to go out and fish. They want it all for themselves,” DeSantis said, referring to a lawsuit by a fishing trade group and others to block the Trump administration’s plan to expand recreational access.
That injunction was granted at the last minute on Thursday ahead of what would have been the start of the red snapper season on Friday.
RELATED | Florida anglers to get longest Atlantic red snapper season in more than a decade
That means the South Atlantic EFPs for Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina are no longer in effect until further order from the court.
“All recreational fishing under these South Atlantic EFPs is not authorized, including tomorrow’s start date of May 22, 2026, for Florida’s recreational red snapper season,” NOAA Fisheries said in a statement on Thursday. “Contact your state agency for further details.”
Earlier in the month, DeSantis announced that NOAA approved the 39-day recreational fishing season through an exempted fishing permit pilot program that gives the state more authority over Atlantic recreational red snapper management.
On Friday, DeSantis pointed to a similar program for the Gulf waters that delegates authority for red snapper fishing rules to the state, which he said has “been a huge success.”
“The snapper population in the Gulf is as healthy as it’s ever been as we’ve had massive expansion of the season,” DeSantis said. “This is what people hate about bureaucracies and what people hate, honestly, about some of these judges. What they do to just try to always throw sand in the gears, even when we already have had a delegation of authority under the law, so clearly that’s something that could be done.”
But amid concerns about overfishing in the Atlantic, commercial fishing groups led by the Southeastern Fisheries Association filed suit May 5, challenging the exempted fishing allowing a 39-day recreational red snapper season starting Friday.
Ocean Conservancy, in filing a brief supporting the association, argued the exempted fishing permits undermine U.S. fisheries law and impose “grave harm not just to the South Atlantic red snapper population and those who depend on it, but to the rational, lawful operations of federal fisheries management itself.”
The ruling does not affect the South Atlantic red snapper commercial season, which NOAA Fisheries said it will announce at a later date. NOAA Fisheries also said it will announce whether there will be a 2026 federal recreational season for red snapper in the South Atlantic.
DeSantis said the ruling will be appealed, but in the meantime, he encouraged anglers to take advantage of red snapper fishing in state waters.
“We’re gonna basically focus on ensuring folks are able to get out and do stuff in state waters. And so I appreciate FWC for being creative,” DeSantis said. “We are going to do a dramatic expansion and ultimately, the recreational anglers, not just in Florida, but beyond, are going to benefit.”
The FWC stated that once the exempted fishing permits are “unfrozen,” the state will issue an updated executive order reestablishing the extended red snapper season.
“Moreover, FWC officers have been notified of the unpredictable nature of the situation and will ensure boaters are provided education within our jurisdictional waters,” the FWC stated.