June 25, 2026 — South Atlantic states have canceled planned extended recreational red snapper seasons after a lawsuit by commercial fishermen, but officials hope to reopen the fishery with new recreational seasons this fall.
States bordering the federal Southeast Atlantic red snapper fishery have long demanded longer recreational seasons with larger catch limits, arguing that the fish population is far more abundant than official numbers suggest. NOAA Fisheries determined the red snapper fishery was subject to overfishing in 2021, and recreational fishing seasons have been limited to as few as two days as managers wait for the stock to recover more.