Atlantic Red Snapper Season: You Get One Day

One. Single. Day.

Friday, July 12. The entire 2024 red snapper season in federal waters of the Atlantic boils down to a single fishing day, according to an announcement last month by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.

From Key West to Hatteras, recreational anglers have been boxed into a 24-hour long fishing rodeo. Commercial fishermen don't have it much better. They get a head start on July 8, but also face strict limits. Before you go, here's what you need to know about harvesting a red snapper:

• Bag limit: One red snapper per angler
• Size limit: None
• No culling of fish; catch one and leave the spot
• Use of descending device: Required (see below)
• Small craft advisory: If one is issued, the NMFS regional administrator will change date
• Recreational season opens at 12:01 a.m. on July 12, 2024, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on July 13, 2024

Will Anglers Be Able to Find Red Snapper Easily?

For most anglers along Florida’s east coast, finding fish won't be a problem. Red snapper are thick on reefs and wrecks greater than three miles from shore, the definition of Atlantic federal waters. Red snapper are most commonly caught from Stuart north to the state line. They typically inhabit waters from 90 feet to 200 feet in depth.

Catching Tips

Bottom fishing is simple. First off, start by fishing a heavy rod-and-reel combo with a bottom rig. Circle hooks are required by law in most waters when fishing natural baits for reef fish. Size 6/0 circle hooks and a 3-ounce weight will do the job with little to no current.

When searching for a good place to catch snapper, look for reef or rocky structure on a chart plotter and confirm promising signs using sonar. Sometimes a school of red snapper can be seen on the fish finder hovering a few feet above the reef. Drop down a bait—dead sardines or cut grunts work nicely—to see if a snapper is home. Often, greater amberjack and grouper will be in the same depths and on the same reefs. When dropping the bait, let the weight bounce off the bottom and give the reel a few cranks up, about one or two times. It will not be long before you will feel that heavy pull from the other side. The whack of a snapper bite and the fight it puts on is memorable!

In a heavily rocky bottom, the snapper will dig down and try to swim you into a rock. Keep your rod tip up and crank steadily on the reel to keep the fish from entangling you. For some anglers, a stout conventional rod and reel works better than a spinning reel. Don't try to set the hook by snapping the rod tip; just reel fast. A large snapper can put up a steady fight and you want to get it off the bottom as quickly as you can. Every now and then, the "tax man" will show up and it becomes a race against time to get the fish in the boat.

Red snapper—unlike muttons and mangroves—are also pretty easily fooled by artificial lures. Maybe not as bold as amberjacks, but close. Speed jigs and conventional bucktails get plenty of bites. You can even chum them up to the surface and catch them on fly tackle.

A Few More Things to Know About Atlantic Red Snapper Season

If you plan to fish the 2024 Atlantic federal red snapper season, here are a few tips and tricks to help guide your success.

• You must have a valid Florida Saltwater Fishing license as well as the State Reef Fish Angler designation. You cannot legally harvest or attempt to harvest certain reef fish from any vessel without both requirements.
• A descending device is required on board any vessel that is harvesting or attempting to harvest reef fish in state waters. This device aids in the safe return of a fish suffering from the effects of barotrauma. Barotrauma is caused by the expansion of the swim bladder when a fish is brought up from a depth greater than 50 feet.
• Fish single non-offset circle hooks on a bottom rig. Avoid the use of "chicken rigs," or multi-hook rigs, in highly populated red snapper areas.
• Have a dehooking tool on the vessel to safely remove any hooks without causing unnecessary harm to the fish.
• Check the regulations, dates, times, etc. for the local area where you are fishing. Downloading the Fish Rules App can help you stay informed and up to date on the regulations.
• Make sure to have all your systems checked on your boat and all your safety equipment is up to date.
• Remember to be efficient if using a public boat ramp. Have your boat ready to drop and go when it is your turn.
• Be mindful of the posted speeds when cruising through high traffic areas like channels, boat ramps and marinas. Boat traffic will be at a higher volume on July 12, and with more boats on the water, the more alert you need to be.
• If you are fishing a well-known reef, have patience. A lot of people will be on the water and more than likely heading to the same spots. Keep a positive attitude!

What’s Next for Red Snapper in Atlantic Waters?

Atlantic recreational anglers were told by NOAA Fisheries they receive one day of fishing in 2024. Meanwhile, in Gulf of Mexico waters, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced those anglers will receive a 103-day season which got underway June 1 and includes a dozen three-day weekends between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30. Anglers are asking, how are red snapper distributed so unevenly?

The Atlantic season is so short because NOAA Fisheries claims there is "overfishing" of red snapper and the stock is in a "rebuilding" plan. The outcome is defined by terms many anglers deem unnecessary or even unrealistic.

Sportfishing advocacy groups with a history of contributing to conservation—such as the American Sportfishing Association –have expressed disappointment with NOAA Fisheries’ decision to once again reduce Atlantic red snapper harvest opportunities despite, as ASA maintains, "scientific evidence that red snapper are more abundant now than they have been in most people's lifetimes and that the fishery continues to improve ahead of expectations."

"Everything points to a rebuilding stock in the Atlantic," said Tripp Aukeman with the Coastal Conservation Association Florida. "There are way more fish out there than the feds are alluding to."

The  Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission can take over red snapper management, moving toward longer seasons with better data. Right now, federal managers are using data from 4-6 years ago, Aukeman said. Exempted fishing permits helped regulators move Gulf of Mexico fishery management from federal to state oversight in 2019. The same could be done for Atlantic waters, or even a lottery system like how FWC handles the annual alligator hunt.

Sources with ASA warn that in addition to a NOAA’s 25 percent cut to 2024 red snapper quota, "further measures to reduce access to Atlantic red snapper are being prepared by the agency."

Florida Sportsman stands with ASA in advocating that recreational harvest access to Atlantic red snapper should be increased to match the progress that has been made in rebuilding the fishery. ASA also believes that draconian measures to reduce access should be avoided, especially as ongoing efforts to improve data and management of red snapper are underway. It does not make sense to move forward with drastic measures that will have devastating impacts to the economy and recreational fishing while the Atlantic Great Red Snapper Count, exempted fishing permits, and other independent data collection efforts that will inform red snapper management are underway. Better data is critical to improving Atlantic red snapper management.

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