December 7, 2018 — After a decade of enduring ever shrinking opportunities to enjoy catching, keeping and eating red snapper caught from Gulf of Mexico waters under federal jurisdiction, Texas recreational anglers in 2018 welcomed a modest loosening of restrictions that had choked much of the life from what long has been the state’s most popular offshore fishing activity.
Those fishing for snapper from private boats saw the length of the federal-water snapper season almost double, to 82 days. It was their longest season since 2007.
More positive developments could be on the way for the coming year, including a possible increase in the annual quota of red snapper allowed to be taken from the Gulf, a possibly longer federal-water snapper season, and changes to the dates of the 2019 open season for anglers in private boats targeting snapper in federally controlled water.
For the first time in a decade, Texas offshore anglers in 2019 could see a federal water snapper season that opens on a date other than June 1, or splits the limited open-season days across the calendar instead of opening June 1 and running continuously for however many days fisheries managers estimate it will take to land the annual quota. And Texas anglers will have opportunity to play an important role in deciding when those 2019 open-season days will fall, Texas fisheries officials said.