Summary
Introduction
Just as they are in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf), red snapper are an extremely popular sportfish in the South Atlantic. Unfortunately, the population has historically been subject to overfishing and is currently under a rebuilding plan. Despite the South Atlantic having the healthiest population of red snapper in recorded history, recreational anglers have been met with increasingly restrictive season lengths. This punitive result to having more fish in the water can be attributed to a federal management system that relies on often variable and highly uncertain recreational catch estimates provided by the federal Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP). Faced with a very similar problem nearly a decade ago, the Gulf states found an innovative way forward that allowed for red snapper seasons that are measured in months rather than days.
Background
Red Snapper in federal waters off the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and East Florida are managed by the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (SAFMC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA). The South Atlantic red snapper stock is classified by NOAA as overfished and subject to overfishing based on a 2021 stock assessment. In an effort to rebuild the stock, NOAA has greatly constricted red snapper seasons in the South Atlantic – recreational harvest has been heavily limited since 2010, with complete prohibition on harvest in the 2010, 2011, 2015, and 2016 seasons. In 2024, recreational anglers looking to target red snapper in the South Atlantic were given a single-day season.
Ironically, although NOAA continues to assert that the red snapper stock is overfished, population abundance in the South Atlantic has hit a record high. A major source of this management conundrum is NOAA’s use of MRIP, a broad, general survey taken over two-month windows used for stock assessments and quota monitoring by estimating harvest as well as dead discards. Data for MRIP is collected through interviews conducted dockside (the Access Point Angler Intercept Survey), which collect catch-per-trip data, and mail surveys (Fishing Effort Survey), which gather information about the number of trips anglers take. While MRIP may be an effective tool for providing trend data over a long-term period, it is not capable of providing timely estimates of angler catch and effort within a relatively short season, nor was it designed to do so. Further, MRIP struggles to accurately estimate recreational dead discards, the main driver of the short red snapper season in the South Atlantic. Without knowing how many people are actually fishing for red snapper or bottom fishing in general, it is difficult to estimate how many total fish are caught and released. As the population grows, more red snapper are estimated to be encountered by anglers outside of the harvest season, which results in high estimates of discard mortality throughout the year, which, in turn, causes the fishery to approach its annual catch limit (ACL) much sooner. Last year, NOAA Fisheries confirmed the flaws within MRIP when they revealed that the Fishing Effort Survey has been producing estimates of harvest and dead discard that are likely inflated by 30-40%. Despite these findings, NOAA still cites MRIP recreational catch and effort estimates as being the most comprehensive and best available information
In 2017, the South Atlantic Council began considering the implementation of federal permits for private anglers in the red snapper fishery in an effort to improve the sampling frame and catch estimates. This amendment is still under consideration. Anglers have become increasingly frustrated with federal management of red snapper and other species in the South Atlantic, thus it seems unreasonable to ask them to buy a federal permit that few have confidence will provide any solutions to the data uncertainty already created by the federal fisheries management system.
It is no coincidence that, while the recreational anglers in the South Atlantic are granted only a single day of fishing for red snapper in 2024, their Gulf of Mexico counterparts will likely enjoy over 100 days. Before 2018, anglers in the Gulf experienced similar issues under federal management. The red snapper population was growing while the seasons were becoming more restrictive, being initially set at just 3 days in federal waters in 2017. Through coordinated efforts of state fish and wildlife agencies, members of congress, and recreational fishing advocates, the Gulf states, which had already begun developing their own recreational data collection programs, secured a pilot program allowing for state management of their allocated recreational red snapper quota through Exempted Fishing Permits (EFP’s) for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The pilot program was deemed highly successful, and at the conclusion of the EFP’s, the Gulf Council permanently implemented this state-based management model for recreational anglers moving forward. State-collected data in the Gulf is currently still calibrated back to MRIP numbers for the purpose of quota monitoring in three of the five states, but, nonetheless, this was a monumental first step forward for greater angling access and conservation in the Gulf and a strong example of what can be accomplished in the South Atlantic.
In 2021, a fishery independent survey known as the Great Red Snapper Count (GRSC) was published on the absolute abundance of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. It found that there were around three times as many red snapper in the Gulf than the most recent federal stock assessment estimated on which current management is based. A similar study began in the South Atlantic that same year and is set to finish in the Fall of 2025. Many hope the findings of this study will result in more realistic harvestable quotas and better overall management of red snapper in the South Atlantic.
Points of Interest
- The 2024 recreational season for red snapper in the South Atlantic was only one day despite the abundance of red snapper being at an all-time high.
- In 2020, NOAA Fisheries implemented Regulatory Amendment 29 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region requiring descending devices be on board and readily available for use on commercial, for-hire, and private recreational vessels, and use of non-offset, non-stainless steel circle hooks, while fishing for or possessing snapper-grouper species. This amendment aims to improve the survivorship of released fish that can die due to barotrauma or foul hooking injuries.
- All five Gulf states, including Florida, have implemented their own angler harvest data programs and are now managing their individual state allocation of the Gulf-wide red snapper quota. Seasons are no longer set on a single federal projection of season length, but rather remain open until the more timely and accurate state data collection programs estimate that they have reached their individual quota and must close in that state.
- The Great Red Snapper Count, an unprecedented fishery-independent survey funded by congress, found three times as many red snapper in the Gulf than current federal data estimates. Its counterpart in the South Atlantic is set to be complete in 2025.
- Representative John Rutherford of Florida introduced The Red Snapper Act (H.R. 4587) in the 118th congress, prohibiting NOAA from implementing total seasonal areas closures in the South Atlantic red snapper fishery until the South Atlantic Great Red Snapper Count study is concluded and is integrated into the next red snapper stock assessment.
- Representative Garret Graves of Louisiana introduced the Fisheries Data Modernization and Accuracy Act (H.R. 8705)[ in the 118th Congress, seeking to reform the federal MRIP program to ensure the use of best available science and data and allowing for states to opt for state data collection through federal funding in place of data collected pursuant to MRIP.
Moving Forward
As the red snapper population rapidly rebuilds in the South Atlantic, recreational anglers are continuously penalized with more restrictive fishing seasons as we remain fully reliant on federal management. The efforts in the Gulf have set a great example of how beneficial the state-management solution could be. State-collected data has proven to be more timely, accurate, and provides far more flexibility and access for anglers while also ensuring continuous conservation of marine resources. A cohesive, state-based management program which supplements or serves as an alternative to MRIP and federal quota management is a viable pathway to common sense management of the recreational red snapper fishery in the South Atlantic.