Pilot program for states’ red snapper

After years of butting heads with federal regulators, the five Gulf Coast states are taking a step forward, through a two-year pilot program, for the management of red snapper recreational fishing in its adjacent federal waters. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council voted last week to allow all five states to manage recreational snapper fishing through the pilot program off their respective coasts through individual Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs). The decision follows years of shortened snapper seasons that have frustrated anglers and commercial fishermen. Gulf Coast leaders negotiated a compromise through U.S. Commerce Department’s Secretary Wilbur Ross that extended the season in 2017. If the states’ EFPs get approval from NOAA, the majority of the 46-day 2018 season would take place on weekends from June 1 to Sept. 2, and the week of July 4th. It would run concurrently in state waters and in federal waters, which begin nine miles off the coast. (Source: Lagniappe 02/07/18)