On June 5, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries announced that the recreational red snapper season in the South Atlantic would be four days in 2020. Earlier this year, NOAA Fisheries initially indicated the season may only be three days long, if there was even to be a season, based on the fact that recreational anglers exceeded the quota much faster in the 2019 season than expected. Although it’s a very short season for 2020, the announcement is welcome news to anglers and tackle store owners from Florida to North Carolina who thought they may not be able to harvest red snapper in 2020.
While the red snapper fishery in the South Atlantic is still rebuilding, red snapper are being caught more frequently outside of the established snapper seasons. Though they are released, a significant portion of the released fish die due to barotrauma, a condition that results from increased pressure of internal gasses in fish that are caught near the bottom and rapidly brought to the surface. Fish suffering barotrauma often cannot swim back down without assistance and die on the surface. The estimated number of dead discards is very high in the South Atlantic region, and the fish that are estimated to die are taken out of the harvestable quota.
Fortunately, Amendment 29 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan is in the final stages of approval, which will require anyone – commercial or recreational – fishing for reef fish at any time in the South Atlantic region to have descending devices on board and ready to use. As more anglers use descending devices to improve the survival of released fish, more fish will be available for harvesting each year. Hopefully, the rule will be implemented prior to the start of the 2020 red snapper season.
For the 2020 red snapper season, there is no size limit and the bag limit will be one per person, per day. The dates are:
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
