Federal red snapper season set to close Sept. 6

While the red snapper season in federal waters will close next week, anglers will still be allowed to harvest in state waters, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced.

The private recreational angler red snapper in federal waters will close at 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 6, concluding a 98-day season. Following the closing date, TPWD said in a news release that anglers may continue to harvest up to four red snapper per day with a 15-inch length limit in state waters out to nine nautical miles.

TPWD said this year’s early arrival of tropical storms as well as Hurricane Beryl’s impact on the Texas coast, reduced red snapper fishing opportunities for anglers during the early part of the federal season. As a result, the decrease in red snapper landings earlier in the season allowed TPWD to keep the federal season open past the Labor Day weekend, the agency said in the release.

“The federal water season offered over three months of red snapper fishing opportunities to the people of Texas even though the storms clearly had an impact on anglers getting out to fish,” TPWD Coastal Fisheries Division Director Robin Riechers said in the release. “We look forward to continuing to work with Texas’ saltwater anglers to maintain this important fishery and hopefully offer longer federal red snapper seasons in the future.”