In a move that doesn’t surprise anyone, Florida is trying anything it can do to extend the ridiculously short three-day 2017 Red Snapper season for recreational fishermen. The season, which is planned to run the first three days of June, is so comically short that state conservation and advocacy groups are weighing in on it. Coastal Conservation Association Florida (CCA Florida), the leading organization for education and advocacy for marine fisheries conservation in Florida, is taking up with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in the barely existent season and addressing it with the federal government.
The FWC said they were willing to work with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and reduce the state water season for red snapper in a letter to the Secretary of Commerce on May25, but only if they would create a longer federal season.
This would mean there would hopefully be a longer Gulf of Mexico federal red snapper season for recreational fishermen, which is something CCA Florida and their 17,000 state-wide members can get behind. In order for this push for an extended season to be successful, CCA Florida needs other Gulf states to be willing to work together in the name of fishing.
“As a conservation-driven advocacy group, we understand and value the efforts of the state and federal government to rebuild Gulf red snapper stocks, and we’ve been pleased with the results we’re seeing in state and federal waters,” said Executive Director of CCA Florida, Brian Gorski. “As stocks continue to grow, limited seasons such as this result in a significant impact along our state’s coast, where red snapper fishing is a major economic benefit.”
Hopefully these states are able to work something out with the federal government to give everyone a realistic opportunity to catch red snapper. Because calling three days of fishing that starts in the middle of the week a season is a slap in the face to red snapper lovers on the recreational end.
