May 8, 2012 – A 2-year-old ban on catching the prized red snapper in the Atlantic Ocean could be eased later this year if a federal panel agrees that the latest counts allow a return to a limited amount of fishing.
The prospect offers a glimmer of hope for Central Florida fishermen unhappy with the ban, which took effect in January 2010.
Modifying the red-snapper ban will be discussed at an upcoming Orlando meeting of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, the regional group that oversees fishing regulations in federal waters from North Carolina to the Keys. During its June 11-15 meeting, the panel will consider an "emergency rule" that would allow some fishing.
Federal officials have faced intense pressure from fishing groups to lift the ban on the fish, a favorite catch among sport fishermen and a tasty meal in demand at restaurants and seafood markets.
A 2008 study found that red snapper had been overfished since the 1980s at a rate eight times greater than what the population could sustain. Federal officials approved a open-ended ban, saying it was necessary to protect the species.
But commercial captains and recreational anglers have continued to dispute the need for it. They say the science behind the ban is flawed, and they point to the large numbers and the size of the red snapper they see when they fish in the Atlantic.
In the best-case scenario, a limited fishing season might be allowed later this year, said Roy Crabtree, Southeast regional administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries service. The fishery council would have to decide the details of when and where red snapper could be caught.
Read the full story at the Orlando Sentinel.