A commercial fishing trade association and others have challenged the federal government’s plan to allow Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas to manage the South Atlantic Ocean’s recreational red snapper fishery.
The plan — and Florida’s resulting decision to increase its fishing days from 2 to 39 this year — was based on politics, not science, according to the Southeastern Fisheries Association’s May 5 lawsuit and the Ocean Conservancy’s May 18 amicus brief supporting the lawsuit. Georgia and the Carolinas gave themselves 62 fishing days.
Data show the fish are too young to reproduce fast enough to rebuild the stock, especially with explosive population growth and more and better fishing and boating technology, the lawsuit argues.
Fishing association files lawsuit that Ocean Conservancy supports
In Florida alone, 485,000 red snapper could be caught in 2026 — over 20 times the annual catch limit of 22,797. That violates the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which is the federal law that governs federal fisheries, the Ocean Conservancy argued. That doesn’t even count the other three states.
During Florida’s two-day season, anglers landed 24,885 red snapper, which also exceeded the annual catch limit.
“Opening the red snapper season for two months — when last year it was two days — is fast-tracking the crash of this species,” said Meredith Moore, the nonprofit’s senior director of fish conservation. “There’s just no way the stock can endure this level of fishing pressure so we can continue to fish for red snapper in the long-term.”
Florida managing red snapper will ‘decimate’ fishery
The Southeastern Fisheries Association, plus two commercial fishing companies and three commercial fishers, sued Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnickto to stop the agency from letting the states manage the fishery.
That will “decimate the red snapper fishery,” Executive Director Bob Zales told TCPalm. “It’s all about politics and it has nothing to do with science. We want everyone to catch fish, but the resource is for everyone to share. We support science-guided decisions.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation approved the plan May 13. FWC rushed to give recreational anglers more fishing days without taking into account how many anglers will fish, how many fish they will catch, and how many smaller fish they will discard, Zales said.
President Donald Trump announced the plan May 1, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lauded it.
“Florida is the most angler-friendly state in the nation, and under my leadership, we are committed to expanding and protecting recreational fishing opportunities,” DeSantis said May 11. “With a record 39-day Atlantic red snapper season and a record-breaking 140-day Gulf red snapper season, Florida is empowering our anglers, protecting our waters, strengthening our coastal economy. And this is just the beginning.”
Florida red snapper fishing days and overfishing
The 2026 recreational red snapper fishing days will be:
Because Florida has the largest recreational fishing fleet and the largest distribution of red snapper in the South Atlantic, its catch will account for the lion’s share of all red snapper caught, the lawsuit states, and charges:
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In the 1990s and early 2000s, overfishing drove the red snapper spawning population to 11% of its historical level.
In response, federal fishery managers reduced the seasons to rebuild the stock through 2044. The new rules risk undermining the progress that’s been made and threaten fishing for decades, the Ocean Conservancy said.
“I cannot wait for the day that we can confidently open the red snapper fishing season for weeks on end, but we’re just not there yet,” said J.P. Brooker, the nonprofit’s Florida conservation director and a sixth-generation Floridian, avid surfer, diver, angler and environmental lawyer. “This is about protecting fishing for generations to come, not just this summer.
Tim O’Hara is TCPalm’s environment reporter. Contact him at tim.ohara@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida lawsuit fights Trump red snapper state management plan
Reporting by Timothy O’Hara, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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