2019 Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper Recreational For-Hire Season and Permit Regulations Announced

• Federally Permitted For-Hire Vessels: June 1, 2019, 12:01 a.m., local time, until August 2, 2019, at 12:01 a.m., local time.
• Private Anglers Note:  The Gulf states will each set their private angling season.  Please check with your state agency for specific dates and read below.

 

 

• Vessels with a Federal Gulf Charter/Headboat Permit for Reef Fish:
  • Persons aboard a federally permitted for-hire vessel cannot fish for or possess red snapper in federal or state waters when the federal for-hire season is closed.
  • If the federal permit is transferred off the vessel, persons aboard the vessel cannot, any time during that fishing year, fish for or possess red snapper in federal waters when the federal for-hire season is closed.
  • These restrictions apply even if the vessel is not acting as a charter vessel, for example, the captain is taking his family fishing.
  • These restrictions apply regardless of any other permit on the vessel.
  • Relevant regulations: 50 CRF 622.39(c) and 622.41(q)(2)(iii)(B).
• Anglers fishing from private vessels:
  • When fishing for red snapper in federal waters, private anglers will need a permit, license, or registration from the state in which they intend to land the fish. 
  • Anglers can fish anywhere in federal waters, including in federal waters off a state with a closed season, if the red snapper season is open in the state where they intend to land.
  • Private anglers must follow all other requirements for landing in the state and abide by the federal bag limit (maximum two fish per person) and size limit (minimum 16 inches total length) when fishing in federal waters.
  • For information on state regulations:
    • Florida, please go to https://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/snappers/ or call 850-487-0554
    • Alabama, please go to  http://www.outdooralabama.com/saltwater-fishing/exempted-fishing-permit
    • Mississippi, please call 228-374-5000 or go to http://dmr.ms.gov/index.php/component/content/category/159-snapper-tails-n-scales
    • Louisiana, please call 504-284-2032
    • Texas, please call 512-389-4620 or email Julie.hagen@tpwd.texas.gov
• State licensed for-hire vessels without a Federal Gulf Charter/Headboat Permit for Reef Fish:
  • The exempted fishing permits do not allow for-hire vessels to fish for or possess red snapper in or from federal waters without a federal for-hire permit.
  • Please see state regulations relative to fishing for red snapper in state waters.
• Vessels with a Federal Gulf of Mexico Commercial Reef Fish Permit:
  • Persons aboard the vessel can recreationally fish for red snapper when the private angling season is open, if they declare they are recreationally fishing when they hail out through the vessel monitoring system - VMS, or call-in system.
  • While on a recreational trip, each person aboard is restricted to the bag limit, no commercial quantities of any reef fish species can be on board, and the fish may not be sold.
  • This does not apply if the vessel also has a Federal Gulf Charter/Headboat Permit for Reef Fish (see above).
  • Relevant regulations: 50 CFR 622.39(b), 622.28(e), 622.38(a)(2).

 

 

• The quota for red snapper in the Gulf for both the commercial and recreational sectors is 15.1 million pounds whole weight.  The recreational sector is allocated 49% of that total, which is 7,399,000 pounds whole weight.
• The red snapper total recreational quota is allocated 57.7% to the private angling component and 42.3% to the for-hire component.
• The private angling annual catch target is 80% of its quota and the federal for-hire annual catch target is 91% of its quota.  This buffer helps minimize the potential for a quota overage.

Sector or  Component	2019 quota  (pounds whole weight)	2019 Annual Catch Target (pounds whole weight)
All Recreational	7,399,000	n/a
Federal for-hire	3,130,000	2,848,000
Private angling	4,269,000	3,415,000

• The federal recreational fishing season for private anglers had been getting shorter each year.
• Many fishermen were frustrated with the increasingly restrictive federal management of red snapper and saw a need for increased cooperation between state and federal governments.
• NOAA Fisheries recognized a need for new and innovative solutions are needed to manage the Gulf recreational red snapper fishery.

• For more information on red snapper management, please visit https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/recreational-fishing/gulf-mexico-recreational-red-snapper-management.
• For more information on the exempted fishing permits for state management of red snapper, please visit https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/recreational-fishing/state-recreational-red-snapper-management-exempted-fishing-permits. 
• For more information on the red snapper quotas and annual catch targets, please visit https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/framework-action-modification-recreational-red-snapper-annual-catch-target-buffers-0.