The public is able to provide input on these measures. Originally, the private recreational Red Snapper season began on Monday, April 15, , in both state and federal waters. This season was temporarily closed from July and reopened as a weekends only season from July 19 until August 19 when it was modified back to a daily season. The season ran seven days a week with a daily bag limit of four fish per person and a inch total minimum length limit.
LDWF also encourages anglers to reduce barotrauma while fishing for red snapper and other reef fish by using descending devices to return fish to a survivable depth before being released. Please note that the DESCEND Act of requires commercial and recreational vessels including for-hire to have a venting tool or descending device rigged and ready to use when fishing for reef fish in Gulf of Mexico federal waters.
These new requirements went into effect January 13, All landings, whether from state or federal waters are counted toward the harvest quota. Near-real-time landings data allow managers to close fishing seasons when actual landings approach the allowed harvest quota for a given year. This also allows managers more flexibility to respond to weather or other environmental events that are not predictable and provides improved data for stock assessments so that changes in the stock are better understood.
These landings data in pounds are preliminary and subject to change. At one time depleted, the Gulf of Mexico red snapper population has been recovering quickly. However, as the population grew, recreational fishing seasons in federal waters got shorter. In response to this issue, fishery managers have been working to find new solutions for responsibly managing the recreational red snapper fishery and increasing opportunities for recreational fishermen to harvest red snapper.
One of the most widely supported solutions has been for the federal government to give the individual Gulf states authority to manage the recreational fisheries in both state and federal waters off their coasts. In April , the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council delegated management authority for private recreational red snapper fishing to each state beginning with the season. Under these management changes, red snapper technically remains a federally managed species and federal limits on how much can be harvested quota still apply.
