62-day season was planned, then canceled
Anglers from the Carolinas to Florida have long been frustrated by red snapper fishing seasons, which have been brutally short for more than a decade. But this year, thanks to the issuance of exempted fishing permits to Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, anglers in the Carolinas were set to have a 62-day recreational season in 2026.
However, on May 21, NOAA Fisheries issued a press release calling off the extended season, and saying NOAA will announce in the near future if there will be a federal recreational season at all for red snapper in the South Atlantic this year.
The reinstated closure came after a judge in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia isssued an order halting activities under the exempted fishing permits. The judge’s ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by the Southeastern Fisheries Association, a commercial fishing trade group. They argued the extended recreational season would lead to overfishing and decimate the fish population. The commercial red snapper season was not impacted by the recreational closure.
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