ORLANDO — Despite angry calls from fishermen about bad science and ruined livelihoods, fishery managers went ahead Wednesday with a long-term ban on red snapper fishing.
By a 9-4 vote, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council made permanent an interim ban that was set to expire Dec. 5.
The council compromised — a little — shrinking the area affected from 6,161 square miles off Florida — from near Melbourne to Georgia — to 4,827 square miles. The ban covers depths of 98 to 240 feet.
Originally, officials had proposed closing off as much as 10,300 square miles from Florida to South Carolina.
Read the complete story at Florida Today.