Florida’s Atlantic red snapper season was thrown into disarray on opening day after a federal judge stalled special permits and the state rebelled, calling him “rogue” and posting a teasing message on social media with a red snapper and the statement “Come and take it.”
The order from United States District Judge Rudolph Contreras was issued May 21 with the recreational Atlantic red snapper season readying to start at 12:01 a.m. on May 22.
It paused new South Atlantic exempted fishing permits that were issued in early May by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The permits awarded Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina increased days and catches for Atlantic red snapper fishing in federal waters.
The permits were challenged in court by commercial fishing groups, including the Southeastern Fisheries Association, with support from environmentalists who filed legal briefs raising concerns about what they said would lead to 20 times the annual catch limit on red snapper.
Kadri Benton, a Fort Pierce resident and lifelong fishermen, said people were excited about the exempted permits with some likely out on the water before dawn unaware of the judge’s ruling.
“There should be a happy medium, but it feels like it comes down to politics and money,” Benton said. “A lot of people who make the rules are not fishermen.”
In response to the ruling, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission first posted on social media an outline of a red snapper with the Florida state flag and the statement “Come and take it.”
That was followed by a lengthy note that said, “a rogue judge sided with activists in an attempt to block Floridians from exercising their right to fish through the recently approved Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP).”
Also, it said FWC will rescind an executive order to allow for Atlantic red snapper to be caught in state waters with a bag limit of two red snapper per person with a 20-inch size limit. That will remain in effect until further notice.
“FWC officers have been notified of the unpredictable nature of the situation and will ensure boaters are provided education within our jurisdictional waters,” the statement said.
Red snapper is an incredibly popular fish because of its taste, size and the fight they can put up on a fisherman’s line. But the South Atlantic red snapper has been historically prone to overfishing, and over the years the federal government enacted population restoration plans.
The temporary injunction says stock assessments, including one taken in 2024, consistently found South Atlantic red snapper both overfished and subject to overfishing. One of the primary causes of death is “dead discards” – fish that are caught and released but die after release.
“The purpose of federal fisheries law is to prevent overfishing so that fish populations and marine ecosystems are healthy enough to support future generations,” said Earthjustice Senior Attorney Andrea Treece. “The Fisheries Service is trying to use these so-called ‘exempted’ fishing permits to create an escape hatch that threatens the integrity of our fisheries.”
Meredith Moore, senior director of the fish conservation program at the Ocean Conservancy, said while the Atlantic red snapper population has been rebuilding, the fish are young and not reproductively ready.
“Our big concern is overfishing that young population and taking it away before they can reproduce,” Moore said.
Earthjustice and the Ocean Conservancy filed an amicus brief in the case “Southeastern Fisheries Association, Inc., et al, vs. Howard Lutnick, et al.” The case was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke in Fernandina Beach and Fort Myers on May 11, touting the approval of the exempted fishing permits, which he said allowed the state to assume management of recreational Atlantic red snapper fisheries in both state and federal waters.
The exempted permits allowed for a 39-day Atlantic red snapper season that would run in the summer May 22 through June 20, and in three weekends in the fall in October.
FWC said the state will “continue fighting for our fishing communities.”
Benton said the best red snapper fishing is in federal waters outside of the state’s three-mile domain.
“It’s possible to catch them within three miles, but you really have to fish all the time to know where to go,” he said. “Go out 10 miles, and pretty much everything you drop down, you will catch a red snapper.”
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for the USA TODAY NETWORK FLORIDA. She covers weather, the environment and critters as the Embracing Florida reporter. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at palmbeachpost.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida red snapper season erupts into chaos as judge blocks permits
Reporting by Kimberly Miller, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
