Federal Red Snapper could be shortened to 11 days

This year’s federal Red Snapper season could be a short one.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council voted Thursday to ask for an 11-day recreational Red Snapper season in Gulf of Mexico federal waters.

The decision was made in response to a legal challenge on the management of the recreational component of the red snapper fishery where it was ruled the recreational fishery consistently exceeds its quota without being held accountable and that regulators haven’t done anything substantial to prevent the overfishing.

For the short-term, the Council asked the National Marine Fisheries Service to implement an emergency rule that establishes a 20% buffer on the 5.4 million pound recreational quota - a buffer with only a 15% probability that the quota will be exceeded.

That would mean a recreational annual catch target of 4.3 million pounds, and an 11-day red snapper recreational season for 2014.

The 11-day season takes also takes into consideration the longer seasons and larger bag limits adopted by Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. 

The bag limit will remain 2-fish per person.

To address the issue long-term, the Council has asked staff to include accountability measure such as buffers and overage adjustments in future rulemaking.

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