February 23, 2022 — Nearly 13 years ago, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) determined the South Atlantic red snapper stock was overfished and undergoing overfishing. The fishery was closed in 2010 with a 35-year rebuilding plan put in place.
Ever since, red snapper have been virtually inaccessible for recreational anglers in South Atlantic waters which stretch from North Carolina southward through the east coast of Florida.
Save for occasional mini-seasons ranging from three to nine days in some, but not all, of those years, anglers have been forced to release red snapper.
As the numbers and size of red snapper have increased over the past dozen years, so has frustration among recreational anglers not only in South Carolina but throughout the South Atlantic Region.
Red snapper are almost exclusively caught in federal waters (3-200 miles offshore), typically in depths of about 60-120 feet off South Carolina. The reef species is very susceptible to barotrauma, which occurs when the rapid change in pressure as fish are reeled in causes the gases in the fish’s body to expand.