March 4, 2015 — The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council has voted to give recreational red-snapper anglers a few extra crumbs for the 2015 season.
During a Tuesday webinar vote, the council recommended an increase in the 2015 red-snapper quota by 3.3 million pounds. If approved by NOAA-Fisheries, the total quota will be 14.3 million pounds.
Since the total take of Gulf of Mexico red snapper is divided between the commercial and recreational fleets, the new recommendation would increase the recreational quota to 7.04 million pounds. However, the management board now builds buffers into the recreational take to account for potential overages. That means the annual catch target for the recreational side of the equation will be only 5.6 million pounds.
NOAA-Fisheries has not yet announced the dates of the 2015 recreational red-snapper season in federal waters. Because the recreational sector has been divided among charter guides and private anglers, many recreational industry leaders expect the federal season to last only one or two days this year.
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