The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries has announced a short recreational season of just two days for 2025 for red snapper in the South Atlantic. Red snapper harvest will be open for recreational anglers in the South Atlantic, from North Carolina through Florida, July 11 and 12. The limit is one fish per angler.
Dates are subject to change in case a small craft weather advisory is projected. Any change in the date of the recreational season will be announced in the Federal Register, Fishery Bulletin, and an announcement via NOAA Weather Radio.
NOAA Fisheries also withdrew the proposed bottom fishing closure from Amendment 59 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic.
Amendment 59, introduced in January of this year, proposed a 3-month bottom fishing closure for 55 species of reef fish in Northeast and Central Florida each year. Comprising federal waters from the Florida/Georgia border to Southern Brevard County, the closure would have had devastating impacts on the sportfishing industry and coastal communities that rely on angling tourism dollars.
The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) applauds the elimination of the proposed closure. “We are encouraged to see NOAA reconsider and withdraw the flawed bottom fishing closure,” said Martha Guyas, Southeast Fisheries Policy Director for ASA. “With more than 5 million anglers taking to the water each year in our state, recreational fishing contributes $11.1 billion to the Florida economy and supports more than 70,000 jobs. This haphazard proposal would have gutted the industry without any sound scientific justification.”
ASA led a joint letter earlier this year in which 76 members of the recreational fishing industry from dozens of states expressed their opposition to the area closures included in the Amendment. NOAA Fisheries also held multiple in-person hearings and received extensive comments during the public comment period, most of which opposed all or part of the proposal.
Moving forward, continued efforts to improve data collection and management are necessary to assist in providing more reasonable access. The South Atlantic Great Red Snapper Count is underway and is expected to be completed later this summer.
Unfortunately, Amendment 59 still maintains an unacceptably short recreational season of just two days for 2025. Although there was widespread grumbling and gnashing of teeth by recreational anglers, it did not come as a surprise to pretty much anyone.
For more information, visit www.fisheries.noaa.gov.