Public input sought on proposed changes to red snapper

HARLINGEN — Anglers stung by last year’s paltry three-day red snapper season in federal waters could see good news by summer.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials have petitioned the U.S. government to allow the state to manage red snapper fishing in federal waters.

If the plan is green-lighted by the feds, it could mean significantly more fishing days in federal waters during the popular red snapper season, which starts June 1.

A public meeting on the proposal will be held March 27 at the Port Isabel Event and Cultural Center, 309 E. Railroad Ave., beginning at 7 p.m.

“There are multiple scenarios outlined in the Exempted Fishing Permit application we submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service,” said Julie Hagen, a spokesperson for TPWD. “In all these scenarios, more available red snapper fishing days for the recreational angler is the goal.

“If private recreational anglers who fish from their own boats and recreational anglers who fish from for-hire vessels are combined into one sector, there could be up to 104 fishing days this summer for all

recreational anglers,” she added. “That is significantly more for private recreational anglers who fish from their own boats than the past few summers.”

The Texas red snapper season is 365 days per year, but only in state waters regulated by TPWD, and those extend out to nine nautical miles from shore. In federal marine waters from nine miles to 200 miles offshore, the red snapper season is determined by the federal government and varies in length from year to year.

Hagen said a key consideration to be decided by the federal National Marine Fisheries Service is whether the for-hire charter sector which takes recreational anglers out on hired vessels will be grouped in with private recreational anglers using their own boats. That will determine the number of fishing days available.

“If we group these two categories of anglers together there is the possibility of receiving 104 fishing days under this permit,” she said. “If the federal government does not allow for us to group them together and manage them as one user group, then private anglers on their boats get 82 days, and if for-hire charter vessels remain managed by the federal government, they will get 51 days.”

Texas isn’t alone in seeking to expand the red snapper season in federal waters. State officials in all states bordering the Gulf of Mexico have submitted similar requests for an Exempted Fishing Permit.

The Texas request, if approved, would not change size or daily bag limits on red snapper.