Red snapper quotas for commercial and recreational fishermen will slash by 50 percent under new regulations that will take effect on February 28. The regulators has set new limits for red snapper in last June but after the approval of federal government the quota limit has been finalized.
Under new rules shrimpers will have to face season closings in areas where the snapper congregate so that it could minimize the accidental catch of young fish. Now anglers need new gear on boats to help small snapper survive after being thrown back in water. The total red snapper fishing quota would be 5 million pounds, down from 9.12 million pounds in 2007.
The new rule has given the licensed commercial fishermen an allotted share of the total catch based on how much red snapper they have historically brought to shore. And for recreational anglers there will be two fish per person for every trip, down from four fish early last year. The new rules also shortened the fishing season for recreational fishermen by more than a month.
The new limits came into being after the species was declared overfished in 1997 by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. The Council now comes up with this new rule on the number and size of red snapper that sport and commercial fishermen could take. A federal judge has approved this plan but for the conservationists the new limits were far too low.
