November 5, 2026 — A NOAA Fisheries analysis shows increased depredation by sharks in the Gulf of Mexico and the Southeast Atlantic.
The analysis looked at data from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center’s Bottom Longline Survey, which focuses on sharks, red snapper, yellowedge and red grouper, and golden tilefish from Brownsville, Texas, to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
November 3, 2026 — The way Gulf Coast states manage their limits for red snapper, a popular catch among recreational anglers, is poised to change next year as fisheries management officials recommend adding more flexibility for states into federal rules.
The Gulf Fishery Management Council took action last week to alter how red snapper catch limit “paybacks” are done at their meeting in Galveston, Texas. The council advises the federal government on managing species in its Gulf of Mexico waters. Its members include sportfishers, commercial harvesters and scientists.
Gulf states are each allotted a specific amount of fish per species that recreational anglers may pull from the water every season. It’s done to ensure anglers don’t take too many, which can destabilize the population or even lead to a species’ extinction.
Previously, if a state went over its seasonal catch limit for red snapper, it had the overage amount taken away from its limit the following season, known as a payback.
October 28, 2026 — A new federal law is putting the spotlight on Hawaii’s fishing industry to keep illegally caught tuna out of the marketplace.
The Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act was signed into law Oct. 15 by President Donald Trump, and was co-introduced by U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Katie Britt, R-Alabama, Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, and Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi.
The new law calls for a standard procedure to identify where red snapper and certain tuna species come from, including the development of a field test kit that can determine whether fish were caught in U.S. or foreign waters.
October 21, 2026 — A bipartisan measure that aims to prevent seafood fraud is now federal law.
President Donald Trump signed into law Oct. 15, the Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act, led by U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Katie Britt, R-Alabama, Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, and Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi.
The new law calls for a standard procedure to identify where red snapper and certain tuna species come from, including the development of a field test kit that can determine whether fish were caught in U.S. or foreign waters.
The process will allow law enforcement to intercept illegally caught or falsely labeled fish before they enter U.S. markets, officials said.
“Our new law will give law enforcement a powerful new tool to detect where ahi comes from, help prevent seafood fraud, and give consumers better, more accurate information on what they’re buying and eating,” Schatz said.
October 20, 2026 — U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act into law 15 October.
“Red snapper is one of the most well-managed and profitable fish in the Gulf, but illegal fishing by Mexican lanchas puts law-abiding U.S. fishermen and seafood producers at a competitive disadvantage,” Senate Commerce Republicans said in a social media post. “Now that this bipartisan bill is law, it will allow federal and state law enforcement officers to utilize technology that determines the country of origin for certain species of fish, and confiscate any such illegally caught fish before sale in the United States.”
October 20, 2026 — Depredation, the removal of or damage to hooked fish or gear by sharks or other marine predators, is a growing concern among fishing communities. Depredation results in increased mortality for managed fish stocks, economic loss, and degraded fishing experiences.
NOAA Fisheries biologists Dr. William “Trey” Driggers and Dr. Walter Ingram recently analyzed data from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center’s Bottom Longline Survey. Their goal: to determine trends in depredation rates over the past two decades. This is one of the first fishery-independent analyses of shark depredation—most research has been conducted in the fishery. The data confirm what anglers are seeing on the water: increasing trends in depredation by species like sandbar, blacktip, bull, and tiger sharks.
The annual Bottom Longline Survey, which started in 1995, samples U.S. waters of the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of America, from Brownsville, Texas, to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Scientists use these data to monitor trends in abundance of federally managed sharks and other fish species like red snapper. It provides fishery-independent indices of abundance for numerous federal stock assessments in the Southeast region. When the survey protocol was standardized in 2001, Dr. Driggers recognized the importance of collecting data on depredation events. He added it as a standard data collection metric for the survey.
Since 2005, the survey has collected data on:
This has resulted in a standardized record of depredation events for all survey longline sets for more than two decades.
October 16, 2026 — A controversial red snapper season currently underway off the coasts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina is the latest battle in the long-running conflict between commercial and recreational fishers over limited fish populations.
But this time, the 14-day season promises to yield something both sides want: data.
Red snapper in the Gulf and the South Atlantic were overfished in the 1990s, leading to tight federal limits on commercial and recreational harvests. Since 2008, Georgia anglers have been allowed to fish for red snapper for only a few days each year, if at all.
Now, NOAA Fisheries says red snapper populations have recovered enough to support an “experimental” season that will test a new Georgia system for reporting how many red snapper are caught—and thrown back—by recreational fishers.
October 8, 2026 — Six commercial fishing businesses and fishermen, including two on the Treasure Coast, have filed a lawsuit challenging a two-week recreational red snapper fishing season for Florida, Georgia and South Carolina that starts Oct. 9.
The lawsuit contends the decision to allow the 14-day season was based on unsupported assumptions that will lead to overharvest of red snapper.
October 7, 2026 — Six commercial fishing businesses and fishermen from Florida and North Carolina have filed a federal lawsuit challenging exempted fishing permits that authorize a 14-day recreational red snapper season in South Atlantic federal waters.
The lawsuit, Ariel Seafoods of Florida, Inc. v. Lutnick, was filed Oct. 5 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare three permits issued Sept. 21 to Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina illegal.
The permits authorize recreational red snapper harvest in federal waters off the three states from Oct. 9 through Oct. 22, with the possibility of a second season in December. NMFS has separately established a three-day federal season, Oct. 9-11, for anglers not participating under a state permit.
At the center of the dispute is how additional red snapper harvest is being allocated between the recreational and commercial sectors.
October 6, 2026 — Six commercial fishing businesses and fishermen from Florida and North Carolina have filed a federal lawsuit challenging exempted fishing permits that authorize a 14-day recreational red snapper season in South Atlantic federal waters.
The lawsuit, Ariel Seafoods of Florida, Inc. v. Lutnick, was filed Oct. 5 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare three permits issued Sept. 21 to Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina illegal.
The permits authorize recreational red snapper harvest in federal waters off the three states from Oct. 9 through Oct. 22, with the possibility of a second season in December. NMFS has separately established a three-day federal season, Oct. 9-11, for anglers not participating under a state permit.
At the center of the dispute is how additional red snapper harvest is being allocated between the recreational and commercial sectors.