JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Fishing for red snapper in the Atlantic will be open for two three day weekends in August. Local anglers can head out and bottom fish August 10-12th and August 17th-19th.
NOAA Fisheries announces a final rule for Amendment 43 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Amendment 43). This rule specifies recreational and commercial annual catch limits for red snapper beginning in 2018.
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Red snapper recreational and commercial seasons will open in South Atlantic federal waters for limited harvest beginning in 2018. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved Amendment 43 after recent scientific information indicated an increase in the red snapper population since 2010.
NOAA Fisheries determined limited harvest beginning in 2018 is neither expected to result in overfishing, nor prevent continued rebuilding of the population.
The rule will take effect on July 26, 2018. The recreational sector will open for harvest on weekends only (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) on the following days:
- August 10, 11, and 12, 2018 - The recreational season opens at 12:01 a.m., local time, on August 10, 2018, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on August 13, 2018.
- August 17, 18, and 19, 2018 - The recreational season opens again at 12:01 a.m., local time, on August 17, 2018, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on August 20, 2018.
The commercial sector will open for harvest upon publication of the final rule at 12:01 a.m., local time, on July 26, 2018, and will close at 11:59 p.m., local time, on December 31, 2018, unless the commercial annual catch limit is met or projected to be met before this date.
NOAA Fisheries will announce if the commercial sector needs to close before December 31, 2018.
Details
This is one less weekend than suggested by the South Atlantic Fish Management Council, they proposed three three day weekends in July originally.
- The total annual catch limit will be 42,510 fish.
- The recreational annual catch limit will be 29,656 fish.
- The recreational bag limit will be one red snapper per person per day. This applies to private and charterboat/headboat vessels (the captain and crew on for-hire vessels may retain the recreational bag limit).
- The commercial annual catch limit will be 124,815 pounds whole weight (12,854 fish).
- The commercial trip limit will be 75 pounds gutted weight.
- There will be no minimum or maximum size limit for the recreational or commercial sectors.
NOAA Fisheries expects that beginning in 2019, commercial and recreational harvest will begin in July, as per Amendment 43 and the final rule.
Fishermen are also urged to use best fishing practices to minimize the number of released red snapper and help improve the likelihood that released fish will survive. “The red snapper fishery has remained closed since 2014 because mortality estimates of the number of released fish exceeded the annual catch limit,” explained Captain Mark Brown, Council Vice-Chair and a full-time charter captain based in Mt. Pleasant, SC. “It is imperative that we use best practices. The key to having future access to red snapper lies in reducing the mortality of fish that are released.”
Best Practices
- Once you have met your red snapper bag limit, move away from areas likely to have red snapper. If you are approaching your vessel limit, move to a different area. When red snapper are out of season avoid areas where they are common.
- Use single hook rigs - since the bag limit is 1 per person, this potentially reduces the number of red snapper caught on one drop.
- If you catch a red snapper and plan to release the fish, keep the fish in the water as you remove the hook and return the fish back to the water as quickly as possible.
- Recognize signs of barotrauma: bulging eyes, stomach protruding from mouth, distended intestines, bloated belly.
- Use descending devices if releasing fish with barotrauma. There are a variety of devices available.