South Carolina anglers get 14 October days to keep red snapper

Officials asked to open red snapper fishing for all of October, and to reopen in December if anglers stayed under a proposed limit of more than 19,000 fish.

The Department of Natural Resources' July application was meant to answer lawsuit concerns while still letting anglers catch fish.

On July 12, 2024, the only snapper day that year, Gettys Brannon held a red snapper on a trip with Russ Tomlinson.

The season length was debated for months before the decision.

The permit says DNR will use the reports to track how many red snapper are off the coast.

Anglers have to register for the season, and registration is free.

The federal government started restricting red snapper access after a 2008 survey found the number of fish falling.

Since then, seasons have grown shorter because of concern about overfishing.

The Southeastern Fisheries Association, which represents nearly 300 businesses, and the Ocean Conservancy oppose the expansion.

People off the coast have reported seeing and catching more red snapper in recent years while fishing for other species.

The Coastal Conservation League supports the state data approach as a way to manage the fish.

The lawsuit is still ongoing.

It is not yet clear whether the case challenges the revised permits.

The permit's main purpose is to improve data collection on red snapper.

Brannon's group includes tackle manufacturers, boat builders, and marinas.

Chances to catch red snapper have dwindled because population declines led to fishing restrictions.

Red snapper can live up to 50 years.

Red snapper are usually found in 60 to 120 feet of water, 3 to 30 miles offshore.

In July, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service received exempted-permit applications from South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia to test state data collection.

In 2010, federal officials closed the fishery so the population could rebuild.

An exempted fishing permit allows fishing that federal rules would otherwise prohibit.

Red snapper declined in southeastern waters over the last half century.

The experimental harvest does not charge a fee to fish.

SCDNR surveys show the red snapper population off South Carolina is increasing, but most fish are young, which the agency reads as a stock still rebuilding.

Since the closure, one- or two-day seasons have been the norm.

Each angler who plans to keep a red snapper must declare the trip and report the catch within 24 hours.

The lawsuit led the states to refile exempted permits that proposed shorter seasons.

Anglers fishing for snapper or grouper must carry a descending device so released fish can recompress.

SCDNR is still urging anglers to use a descending device so released red snapper survive.

Red snapper are especially prone to barotrauma when brought up from deep water, because gases in the body expand.

South Carolina set no boat limit for the October season.

South Carolina's experimental season is separate from the three-day federal South Atlantic season.

The experimental seasons in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida are separate state programs.

Anglers are urged to declare and report bottom-fishing trips, including red snapper, during November.

The state says November reports will add information on released fish and later exempted-permit decisions.

The red snapper rules in South Carolina state waters are unchanged.

In state waters, anglers may keep one red snapper a day, at least 20 inches, with no closed season.

Yamaha Rightwaters funds the VESL reporting app.