In early June, at a meeting in New Orleans, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (GMFMC) finalized an ongoing amendment for red snapper. For recreational red snapper anglers in federal waters, the new rules read:

The recreational bag of four red snapper per person, per day drops to two per person, per day; the newly revised fishing season in federal waters spans from June 1 to September 30; and the 16-inch fish minimum stays the same. The newest amendment also prohibits possession of a recreational bag limit by captain and crew of for-hire vessels in the Gulf of Mexico.

The amendment was approved by the Secretary of Commerce in December 2007, but the final implementation of the regulations has not yet been approved. The GMFMC plans to have the final rules written into law early this year.

After the federal laws are put into place, expect state waters to implement the same regulations, says FWC’s Chad Hanson. Hanson expects the new state regulations to be in place by the current harvest season start date of August 1. As of right now, those implementations are still pending.

An often overlooked aspect of the newest amendment is that required venting tools must be onboard all vessels fishing for reef fish species. Also, non-stainless steel circle hooks must be used when targeting the same reef fish species with natural bait (live or dead).