Dauphin Island, Al. (Aug. 26, 2014) – The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Marine Resources Division (AMRD) today announced preliminary results of the Alabama Red Snapper Reporting Program, which was implemented in May 2014 to better ascertain the number of recreationally caught red snapper landed in Alabama. Findings were presented to the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council earlier today during its meeting in Biloxi, Mississippi.

The Alabama Red Snapper Reporting program estimates that 418,000 pounds of red snapper were landed in Alabama through June 30, which included the shortest federal season to date of nine days (June 1- 9). These findings are significantly less than estimates from the federal Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) estimate which indicated 1,041,000 pounds of landings during the same period.

"There is a significant difference between the results of the Alabama red snapper reporting system and the federal MRIP system," said Chris Blankenship, director of the Alabama Marine Resources Division and program administrator for the Alabama Seafood Marketing Commission. "Federal landings are nearly two-and-a-half times what Alabama's program shows. If landings are closer to those estimated from Alabama's program, the federal season could have been significantly longer than nine days."

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