BATON ROUGE, La. — Anglers off Louisiana will be able to take up to four red snapper a day — double the previous limit — when the recreational season reopens Friday, the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said Wednesday.
The season will also expand to seven days a week rather than weekends only, the department said in a news release.
“This opportunity will help bring business back to our marinas, docks, and the charter fishing industry, especially in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida,” department Secretary Jack Montoucet said in the release. With the recreational greater amberjack season running through October, anglers will be able to catch both species, he said.
Aside from 2013, when Louisiana raised the limit in state waters to three fish, federal and Louisiana regulators have held anglers to two red snapper a day since 2007, said Jason Adriance, Louisiana’s finfish program manager.
Louisiana has kept that limit since 2018, when the federal government first let Gulf states manage private recreational red snapper fishing in both state and federal waters. That authority became permanent starting with the 2020 season.
Montoucet signed a declaration of emergency Wednesday to allow the season’s reopening and expansion based on findings that 30% of the state’s recreational limit remains uncaught.
“This opportunity will help bring business back to our marinas, docks, and the charter fishing industry, especially in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida."
The department had closed red snapper angling Sept. 7 to analyze harvest limits.
Louisiana’s recreational red snapper season will end when department surveys indicate the state is nearing the total state recreational quota of nearly 832,500 pounds.
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