WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) released the following statement after the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council voted to let Louisiana and other Gulf States manage the red snapper fishery in state and federal waters for private angling starting in 2020.
In a victory for Louisiana private anglers, the Gulf Council passed a provision giving the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries “the authority to set seasons, bag and size limits, and other management regulations for private recreational red snapper fishing in federal waters (out to 200 nautical miles).”
“Better management and protections for red snapper fisheries are long overdue for Louisiana anglers,” said Dr. Cassidy. “I applaud the Gulf Council for voting to give authority to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries on how to manage recreational fishing in federal waters.”
In 2017, Dr. Cassidy introduced a bill to address long-term solutions for red snapper recreational management in the private recreational sector.
Louisiana’s private recreational anglers had 42 days of red snapper fishing in federal waters in 2017 and 60 days in 2018, an increase from the 11 days available in 2016.
Louisiana’s share of the private recreational red snapper quota will be 19.1% or 816,439 pounds. In 2018 Louisiana anglers caught 738,000 pounds of red snapper, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries.
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