Louisiana Red Snapper Fishermen Rejoice as Season Reopens Friday
Anglers who love the thrill and the taste of red snapper as caught in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico were no doubt disappointed when September 7th of this year came and went. That's when the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries shut down the recreational red snapper season. That was the bad news.
The good news is that after examining the data of the recently concluded season's harvest it was decided that about 30% of the anticipated catch for this year was in fact, not caught. That means the recreational red snapper season will be reopening for anglers on Friday.
There's other good news for those that really love red snapper too. The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is doubling the daily limit. The old limit was two fish per person per day. The new limit will now be four fish per person per day. And fishing is no longer restricted to weekends.
That's right, Louisiana anglers can now go after their Red Snapper limit seven days a week. Jack Montoucet, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said the reopening of the season had a two-pronged benefit to the state.
One, it would allow anglers to go in a fish the state's waters for that 30% of the anticipated harvest that was not harvested. Two, the extension of the season will encourage more fishermen to support the state's charter companies and marinas. Many of those businesses suffered losses because of Hurricanes Ida and Nicholas in recent weeks.
Oh, here's one other nugget of good news to note. The reopening and extension of the Red Snapper season will allow anglers to fish for not only the snapper but Amberjack too. The Amberjack season is scheduled to run through October.
Officials with LDWF did not indicate when the new closing date of the season would be. Instead, they will monitor the daily harvest of species taken in and make that announcement concerning the closing of the season when the data indicate anglers are close to reaching seasonal limits for the species of fish.