Red snapper anglers in Florida, Southeast get one single day to fish, keep red snapper

One day.

Recreational anglers in Atlantic waters from Key West to North Carolina — and every Florida inlet in between — will get just 24 hours to fish for and keep coveted red snapper, a fish that's great for the table and fun to catch. Friday, July 12 will be that one day, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service announced Tuesday.

The commercial fishing season for red snapper in Atlantic waters will begin July 8 and continue until Jan. 1, 2025, or until the commercial catch limit is reached, the fisheries service also announced.

NOAA may change the recreational and commercial seasons if hurricanes, tropical storms or small craft advisories exist or are predicted to exist, the fisheries service announcement added.

That makes the recreational limit 1 red snapper per person and the commercial limit is 75 pounds per trip.

For 2024, the total catch limit for red snapper was reduced to 31,000 fish. The commercial catch limit for red snapper in Atlantic waters is 85,268 pounds whole weight while the recreational catch limit is reduced to 21,167 fish. This splits the catch limit between recreational anglers and commercial anglers about 60/40.

NOAA based the recreational season on state-specific South Atlantic red snapper surveys, the Southeast Region Headboat Survey, and the Marine Recreational Information Program.

The full announcement can be read here.

Long game:Why red snapper in the Atlantic may not be coming home for dinner

In previous years, the red snapper fishing season was:

•  2023: Two days
• 2022: Two days
• 2021: Three days
• 2020: Four days
• 2019: Five days

Gov. Ron DeSantis last month announced the Gulf of Mexico red snapper season would be a record 103 days.

Ed Killer writes about fishing for TCPalm. Email him at ed.killer@tcpalm.com.