October 16, 2017 — WASHINGTON — Internal memos show top Trump administration officials knew extending the recreational fishing season in the Gulf of Mexico from three to 42 days this summer would lead to significant overfishing.
But they did it anyway.
In memos released in response to a lawsuit, Commerce Department officials defended the move by saying that keeping the three-day season would be “devastating” to the recreational marine industry and the communities whose economies are tied to it.
And extending the time would also help solve a long-running dispute with states who have much longer seasons and want to wrest control of red snapper management from federal managers, they argued.
“It would result in overfishing of the stock by six million pounds (40%), which will draw criticism from environmental groups and commercial fishermen,” Earl Comstock, director of Policy and Strategic Planning for Commerce, conceded in a June 1 memo to his boss, Secretary Wilbur Ross. “However NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) agrees that this stock could handle this level on a temporary basis.”