**Public hearings will be held in early 2025. Once confirmed, the dates, times, and locations will be posted at the bottom of this page.
A 1-day recreational fishing season—it’s not what anyone wants: not fishermen, not tackleshops, and not fishery managers. In 2024, red snapper fishing in the South Atlantic was open for 1 day. For this iconic (and tasty) reef fish, everyone agrees: We need a better path forward.
“It’s the worst-case scenario,” said NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Administrator Andy Strelcheck. “This is not where any of us want to be. Fishermen deserve better.”
The red snapper population has shown a remarkable rebound in the last 15 years. Fishermen and scientists agree that red snapper are far more abundant and larger than they used to be. However, that success has resulted in limited harvest opportunities, because of the large amount of discarded fish. The South Atlantic Council, in recent years, has struggled with how to reduce the high amounts of red snapper discards and end overfishing, as required by the law. This has led to frustratingly short recreational fishing seasons and low commercial quotas; it means the Secretary of Commerce must take action.
If a Council fails to develop and submit to the Secretary needed conservation and management measures for a species, the Magnuson-Stevens Act gives the Secretary authority to act to develop those measures. Further, recent litigation resulting in a court-enforced settlement agreement requires NOAA to act by 2025 to end overfishing of red snapper.
“Very short seasons and small quotas are frustrating for recreational anglers and commercial fishers, leading to high levels of fish discards, reduced economic benefits, and derby fishing,” said Strelcheck. “Derby fishing can be unsafe and discards result in forgone fishing opportunities. So how do we reduce the number of discards and provide greater fishing access? That is what NOAA Fisheries is working toward through the Secretarial Amendment, as well as experimental studies with our state partners testing management strategies that could reduce discards of red snapper and other managed snapper-grouper species.”
As fishery managers work to end overfishing, the most critical piece of the puzzle is finding a way to reduce recreational discards. Fish discards occur when fishermen catch a fish and then throw it back. This can be because it is too small, the fisherman has already caught their bag limit, the season is closed, or other reasons.
We will unveil a range of fishery management options through an amendment and proposed rule in early 2025. The goal is ending overfishing of red snapper while also increasing fishing opportunities for this iconic fish by reducing the amount of dead discards.
“Unfortunately, the actions considered by the Council have been insufficient to address discards and end overfishing. This means NOAA has to act,” said Strelcheck. “We are already trying new management strategies to reduce red snapper and snapper-grouper discards and improve angler satisfaction. And we are intent on delivering more, sustainable fishing opportunities for the future.”
While the options to be considered in the Secretarial Amendment are still a work in progress, we want to keep people informed. We encourage you to get involved through the public comment process that will include public hearings. The public hearings will allow members of the public an opportunity to be heard in the preparation of the Secretarial Amendment and regulations. You can also share concerns and information about the fishery. We will share information about the public hearings when it becomes available.
Once confirmed, public hearing dates/times/locations will be posted here and distributed via a fishery bulletin.
Who/What/When/Where/Why a Secretarial Amendment? (PDF, 1 page)
