The red snapper commercial season ended Wednesday morning as the NOAA catch limits were met for 2025. Back in June, Capt. Jim Green wrote in the National Fisherman column about the decline of red snappers in the Gulf being real, “How is the red snapper fishing? At certain times of the year, that question gets asked more than ‘What’s for dinner?’”
Green further explained that some people claim they have no problem catching red snappers, and though that may be true in the small pocket of the Gulf where they fish, many fishermen, including himself, feel there are issues with the stock. He says the data, both federal and from the Gulf states, support this.
For several years, reports of “localized depletion” have been coming from all over the Gulf. Green stated, “At what point can we just call it what it is: depletion?” He went on to say that all fishermen want longer seasons, but they want them when the stock is healthy. “We’re catching smaller fish more frequently, and more of those fish must be discarded due to size restrictions. These discards often don’t survive.”
Green said that to meet this challenge, fishermen must work together to invest in timely and transparent science. NOAA Fisheries provides essential services that help managers make informed decisions, and the recent staff cuts to the agency “risk our ability to restore American fishing and seafood competitiveness,” he shared.
NOAA announced that the commercial harvest of red snapper in federal waters of the South Atlantic will close at 12:01 a.m. local time. The agency stated that the 2026 commercial fishing season for red snappers in the South Atlantic will reopen on Monday, July 8, 2026, with a commercial catch limit of 102,951 pounds whole weight, the same as 2025. Regulations implementing the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region require NOAA Fisheries to close harvest when the commercial catch limit is met or projected to be met.
NOAA also noted that the closures apply in both state and federal waters for vessels that hold a federal commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit for snapper and grouper, regardless of where the fish are harvested or possessed. The recreational sector closed on July 13, 2025. Therefore, all possession, sale, or purchase of red snapper from federal waters is prohibited, effective September 24.
ABC 4 News shared, “This closure and reduction of permitted caught fish allow for the species to recuperate and repopulate the waters before reopening in the next year.”
Capt. Jim Green stated, “A declining fishery affects everyone- anglers, for-hire operators, commercial fishermen, and coastal communities. It is the nation’s resource, and we need to break the cycle of having to rebuild this fishery every 20 to 25 years.”
