May 22, 2026 — The United States District Court for the District of Columbia has issued a preliminary injunction temporarily halting four states from expanding their recreational red snapper fishing seasons under exempting fishing permits (EFP) issued earlier in May.
“The South Atlantic EFPs for Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina are no longer in effect until further order from the Court, and the recreational harvest of red snapper in the South Atlantic remains closed,” NOAA Fisheries said in a 21 May statement. “All recreational fishing under these South Atlantic EFPs is not authorized, including tomorrow’s start date of May 22, 2026, for Florida’s recreational red snapper season.”