After years of extremely short seasons to fish for snapper – a single day in 2024 and just two days in 2025 – anglers in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina have more time to chase one of the most prized fish in the country. Late this spring NOAA exempted the state governments (and local anglers) in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina from federal regulations for recreational harvest of red snapper. The move hands off red snapper management to those individual states – and state regulators immediately allotted multiple weeks of red snapper season for 2026.
- Florida: May 22 through June 20, October 2-4, October 9-11, and October 16-18
- Georgia: July 1 through August 31
- South Carolina: July 1 through August 31
- North Carolina: July 1 through August 31
The brief red snapper seasons along those states are due to the Marine Resources Information Program (MRIP), which federal regulators use to calculate fish mortality through estimates developed from surveys of commercial and recreational anglers. Advocates for responsible fishing practices, including BoatU.S., contend the well-intentioned MRIP significantly overestimates the take from recreational fishermen, which leads to over-restricting recreational anglers’ time to fish.
Angler on a fishing boat holds a large red snapper catch over open ocean waters.
“The lack of accurate, precise and timely estimates on recreational harvest led to extreme precautionary management of red snapper in South Atlantic federal waters,” says David Kennedy, manager of BoatU.S. Government Affairs. “State regulators are better positioned manage their local fisheries than the federal government.”
The exemptions follow the example set when five Gulf states (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida) were granted Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs) by NOAA Fisheries in April 2018 to test state-by-state management of private recreational red snapper fishing. The results to date indicate red snapper populations are at historically high levels after eight years state management under EFPs that provide months-long fishing seasons for Gulf Coast anglers.
“We’ve witnessed the benefits of state management in the Gulf for years, and we’re hopeful anglers and the industry will now experience these same benefits in the Atlantic in 2026 and beyond,” says Martha Guyas, Southeast Fisheries Policy Director for the American Sportfishing Association.
Florida’s proposed season is to run for 39 days split between summer and fall, and other southern Atlantic states will allow fishing for red snapper for a 62-day summer season in both state and federal waters. States will collect catch data from anglers and for-hire captains, and after a review of the 2026 results, the pilot programs may be modified. Long-term plans for state management, and improvements will be developed through the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council.