Considering the heat wave over Father’s Day weekend, diving sounds better than being on the surface with a fishing rod. It is observed that the daily limit is two gallons of whole scallops, or one pint of meat per person, and no more than 10 gallons whole or a half-gallon of meat per boat. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council finished its meeting in Stuart June 12 without making a final decision about closing red snapper season for six months or a year. The SAFMC was expected to vote on a 180-day interim rule, which could be extended to one year, to close recreational and commercial fishing for red snapper in federal waters from Florida to North Carolina.
It is informed that the council did separate the amendment, which included both red snapper and other bottom species like grouper, tilefish and speckled hind. That clears the way for a vote to stop red snapper fishing from three to 200 miles offshore without closing the other species.
The council said that it expects a lawsuit over red snapper, and dividing the rule wouldn’t delay closures of other species. Anglers, captains and commercial boat owners at the meeting complained vigorously that red snapper stocks are not in peril, their first-hand observations completely different from data the SAFMC is relying on.
Meanwhile, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved rules that will limit fishing for red snapper and grouper in the Gulf of Mexico.
