NOAA Fisheries and state partners from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida are preparing for the 2012 South Atlantic red snapper commercial and recreational seasons. These agencies are looking to fishermen for help with red snapper data collection during the openings. Data collected will provide much needed information for the 2014 red snapper population assessment.
Data collection is scheduled to happen in a number of ways and at a number of locations throughout each state. A summary of data collection efforts is provided in detail on the NOAA Fisheries Web page.
Details of the Red Snapper Season:
The commercial red snapper season opens at 12:01 a.m., local time, on September 17, 2012, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on September 24, 2012. During the open commercial season, the trip limit is 50 pounds gutted weight and there is no minimum size limit for red snapper.
The recreational fishing season will open for two consecutive weekends made up of Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The recreational red snapper season opens at 12:01 a.m., local time, on September 14, 2012, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on September 17, 2012; the season then reopens at 12:01 a.m., local time, on September 21, 2012, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on September 24, 2012. During the open recreational season, the bag limit is one fish per person per day and there is no minimum size limit for red snapper.
_ –– Source: South Atlantic Fishery Management Council_
