June 12, 2017 — As officials seek full recovery of the once disastrously depleted red snapper population in the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf states are considering a proposed compromise on a contentious three-day federal red snapper season for recreational anglers.
The Commerce Department has said that if the Gulf states close waters to recreational redfish anglers on weekdays at least through Labor Day, a federal season will run the weekends of June 17 through Sept. 4.
If recreational anglers haven’t reached their 3 million-pound (nearly 1.4 million kilogram) quota by then, states could reopen their waters for a fall season.
The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission voted 5-0 for the proposal Monday.
Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida also are being asked to approve it.
Patrick Banks, head of fisheries for Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, told commissioners that an online survey of nearly 5,000 anglers found that they preferred an alternative that would have added Friday to the weekends.
However, that proposal also would have required states to give up the chance for a fall season in state waters. Texas — which has a year-round recreational red snapper season — balked at that, Banks said.
Texas is holding three public hearings Monday night along the coast and a webinar Tuesday. Alabama officials asked for public comment in a Facebook posting Friday, the same day that Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission held a conference call to gauge public comment.
Mississippi, like Louisiana, sent surveys to people who have participated in red snapper landing counts, said Paul Mickle, chief scientific officer at the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. He said more than 500 people have responded so far.
The Commerce Department made the proposal after talks with state congressional delegations, said Jack Montoucet, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. He said the proposal apparently came from outside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which set the three-day season held earlier this month.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Austin American-Statesman