October 28, 2025 — Florida, Georgia and South Carolina are pushing the Commerce Department to cede regulatory authority over South Atlantic red snapper in federal waters to state agencies, arguing that NOAA’s management of the highly popular species is based on flawed science and harming Atlantic Coast sportfishing economies.
In an Oct. 17 letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the states’ attorneys general asked for the immediate transfer of responsibility for conducting population surveys for snapper and other reef fish that are targeted by recreational fishermen. The three states also want authority over snapper catch limits, fishing season openings and closings, and the permitting of fishing vessels plying federal waters beyond 3 nautical miles of a state’s shoreline.
The letter asks Lutnick “to use whatever tools are at your disposal” to facilitate handing over management authority, including “exempted fishing permits” that can be granted by NOAA to allow research projects on data collection, low-impact fishing and conservation.