Saving Seafood

LOUISIANA: Anglers get another weekend of red snapper fishing

August 18, 2017 — Louisiana anglers will get another weekend of red snapper fishing as catch numbers are more than 250,000 pounds below the state’s self-imposed limit for 2017.

The latest statistics from the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries show 780,769 pounds of red snapper had been caught as of Aug. 6.

The Wildlife and Fisheries Commission has ordered agency Secretary Jack Montoucet to close the season when it appears anglers will meet the state’s self-imposed limit of 1.04 million pounds.

Louisiana officials said they hope being accountable for the catch limit will help the state’s chances of receiving federal permission to manage its own red snapper season not just in state but in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico.

Read the full story at Houma Today

Fishery officials to consider 2017 red snapper season

August 16, 2017 — Federal fishery managers will vote on an emergency order next month to create an open season later this year for red snapper, which are protected by strict regulations designed to help the species recover from overfishing.

The surprise move, which would create the first open season since 2014, will likely be welcomed by many local anglers who believe red snapper are thriving and mismanaged by overbearing federal officials.

Others were caught off guard by the news and concerned about the repercussions of loosening the regulations and whether fishery managers were legally allowed to make that decision on such short notice.

“The question is, what’s the emergency? Where’s the fire?,” said Leda Cunningham, who works for a campaign to end overfishing run by an arm of the Pew Charitable Trusts. “If there’s new information that indicates the status of the population has changed for the better or worse, we’ll need to see it.”

Red snapper have been protected by strict regulations since 2010, a result of the federal government ruling the species was overfished to dangerously low numbers. Anglers can still catch red snapper, but they’ve had just a few opportunities to keep the fish since the rules took effect.

Read the full story at the Florida Times-Union

Local red snapper might be back on the South Carolina plate

August 14, 2017 — The fresher the fish the better. And the savory red snapper is the fish they all want — the fire-up-the-grill catch for the weekend angler, the sought-after restaurant plate, the mainstay of seafood stores.

Lately the snapper on the plate isn’t local. It comes from the Gulf of Mexico.

But this fall, for the first time since 2014, South Carolina anglers might be able to catch red snappers offshore and keep them.

Federal fishery regulators are looking at a “mini season” of maybe a few weekends to allow anglers to harvest the fish they have been forced to throw back since 2014.

That’s when the harvest was closed off, to try to rebuild what was thought to be a depleted stock.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council meets Sept. 11 in Charleston to decide. They also will look at allowing a season in July 2018, a measure that would go to public hearings later in the year.

Read the full story at the Post and Courier

Red snapper proposal attracts allies and foes

August 7, 2017 — Environmental and fishing groups continue to line up for and against Louisiana lawmakers’ proposal to give states more control over red snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Among other provisions, the companion measures awaiting action in Congress would give states authority to set seasons up to 25 miles off their coasts or to where waters reach 150 feet in depth, whichever is the greater distance. States already have the authority to manage the red snapper fishery up to nine miles off their coasts.

Companion bills introduced about a week ago are the latest in a years-long battle over how the popular fish is managed. Louisiana’s two Republican senators, Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, are sponsoring the Red Snapper Act of 2017 in the Senate. Reps. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge; Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans; and Clay Higgins, R-Port Barre; are among a bipartisan group of Gulf Coast lawmakers who have introduced a companion bill in the House.

Recreational fishermen have for years complained that federal authorities have set overly restrictive catch limits and unnecessarily short seasons for red snapper despite a rebound in the species’ numbers. Environmental and conservation groups have already gone on record opposing the measure, saying it will hamper efforts to help the fish rebound from years of severe overfishing.

Read the full story at the Daily Comet

Under Trump, recreational anglers feel tide turning in their favor on red snapper

August 7, 2017 — WASHINGTON — It’s getting easier to snap up red snapper.

The sought-after game fish has been at the center of a years-long debate between environmentalists who want to protect the iconic species while it continues to rebuild from overfishing and recreational anglers who contend years of economically crippling restrictions have paid off and it’s time to go fishing again.

After eight years of policies under President Obama that emphasized protection, there’s now a rising tide of momentum under the Trump administration to loosen restrictions in the federal waters off the Southeastern United States. Already:

• Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in June expanded the recreational fishing season for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico from three to 42 days.

• Legislation has been reintroduced in the House and Senate to give more say over red snapper management to Gulf Coast states, which are seen as more sympathetic to recreational anglers’ interests. Such bills are likely to get a friendly reception if they reach the president’s desk.

• And next month, the agency overseeing fishing restrictions in the South Atlantic is expected to lift a years-long ban on red snapper in 2018.

All of that delights anglers who feel the Obama administration ignored their arguments that red snapper had rebounded so well they were literally “tripping over” fish.

“I feel a whole lot better today than I did a year ago,” said Jeff Angers, president of the Louisiana-based Center for Sportfishing Policy, which advocates for the recreational fishing industry.

Read the full story at USA Today

Louisiana anglers get another red snapper weekend

August 4, 2017 — Louisiana is definitely the Sportsman Paradise for anglers hoping to catch red snapper.

Latest estimates from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries show that the catch total is still thousands of pounds below the mark that would signal the end of the red snapper season.

The latest catch statistics recorded by LDWF’s LA Creel, the department’s near real-time data collecting program, is 736,159 pounds covering the period ending July 23. The last reported catch amount was 709,595 pounds, covering the period through July 16.

The state’s self-imposed cutoff number is 1.04 million pounds for 2017.

Read the full story at WAFB

Bills would open snapper harvest out to at least 25 miles

August 3, 2017 — Louisiana senators and representatives have introduced companion legislation in Congress that would give states management authority of red snapper out to 25 miles or 25 fathoms, whichever is greater, off their coastlines. Currently, states control red snapper out to nine nautical miles.

Both Louisiana senators, Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, introduced the bill in the Senate, while Reps. Garret Graves, Cedric Richmond and Clay Higgins joined seven other representatives to propose the House bill.

The legislation is designed to ensure Gulf of Mexico anglers have broader access to rebounding red snapper stocks during 2018 and beyond. This year, the Commerce Department gave recreational anglers 39 additional days in federal waters after NOAA Fisheries set a three-day recreational season.

That move is being contested in court, and without legislation to address the issue, recreational anglers could be locked out of the fishery in 2018.

Graves said the need for legislation is overdue.

“Something has to change,” he said. “It is time to replace the status quo with a management system that more accurately reflects today’s red snapper private recreational fishery.”

Read the full story at the New Orleans Times-Picayune

Reminder: Red Snapper Q&A Thursday at 6 PM via webinar; Public Hearings Scheduled

August 1, 2017 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Join members of the Council’s staff this Thursday, August 3rd at 6:00 PM for an informal Question and Answer session to discuss proposed changes to the annual catch limit for red snapper in the South Atlantic. Council staff will provide an overview of alternatives in Amendment 43 and then answer questions from the public via webinar.

 NOTE: Formal public comment will not be taken during the Q&A session. Public comment will be accepted during the public hearings via webinar. The Council is also accepting written comments until August 15, 2017. An online comment form is available (see below).

Red Snapper – Q&A and Public Hearings via Webinar

Amendment 43 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan

This amendment would modify the current annual catch limit for red snapper in the South Atlantic. The Council proposes the modification in order to allow options for a limited harvest of red snapper in federal waters in 2018.

Webinar Schedule:

  • August 3rd – Informal Question & Answer Session at 6:00 PM
  • August 8th – Public Hearing at 6:00 PM
  • August 10th – Public Hearings at 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM

Learn More

Access the Amendment 43 Public Hearing Story Map to quickly get an idea of what is being proposed and how it may affect red snapper fishing in the future. Watch a video presentation of the proposed changes, review the public hearing document, and sign up for any or all of the webinars from the Council’s website. Note that webinar registration is required.

Submit your own comments online and read what others are saying about Amendment 43! Additional information, including the online public comment form, comment summary table, and links for webinar registration is available at: http://safmc.net/safmc-meetings/public-hearing-and-scoping-meeting-schedule/.

Longer season threatens red snapper, group contends

But area anglers question the conservation group’s findings.

July 31, 2017 — A federal decision to extend the recreational fishing season for Gulf of Mexico red snapper this summer is likely to lead to overfishing, conservation group says.

The extended season, now under way, could allow anglers to take up to three times as much snapper as legally allowed under scientifically sound catch limits, according to an analysis of fishery data by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Pew analyzed estimated red snapper catch rates and projections from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service and concluded that total 2017 landings in the Gulf by all fishermen will probably exceed legally allowed amounts by at least 37 percent.

“That’s a disturbing scenario for a species that plummeted to low population levels from overfishing in the 1990s,” Holly Binns, Pew’s director of U.S. Oceans Southeast, wrote Thursday in a report on the findings. “Gulf red snapper have been recovering thanks to federally mandated, science-based catch limits and court-ordered measures to prevent catching the fish faster than they can reproduce, but that progress is now in jeopardy.”

Louisiana and other Gulf Coast anglers won a 39-day red snapper season that started June 16 and is expected to run through Labor Day. Recreational fishermen can catch red snapper Fridays through Sundays through Sept. 4 in federal waters off Louisiana; state waters were closed to the fish as part of the deal.

Read the full story at Houma Today

Save the snappers? Environmental groups calling for shorter fishing season

July 27, 2017 — DESTIN, Fla. — A lawsuit filed in Washington D.C. wants to kill or significantly reduce next year’s recreational red snapper season before it starts.

The suit was filed on behalf of the Environmental Defense Fund and could benefit commercial fishermen. They say the suit will save the snapper for future generations of fishermen.

The Environmental Defense Fund wants to do away the extra days the federal government gave to recreational fishermen this year by removing them from next year’s season.

Parker Destin has lived in the city named after his family most of his life.

He supports the lawsuit; as well as more regulations on recreational red snapper fishermen.

“If we do not get it right, well we won’t have red snapper in the future and that’s not good for anybody including the small angler, who comes down here and wants to access it,” Destin said.

Read and watch the full story at WEAR-TV