June 9, 2015 — Red snapper is a prized catch in both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, but federal regulators are concerned the species is being overfished.
As a result, red snapper fishing — commercial and recreational — is off-limits for the rest of 2015.
Captain Lee Lingo was preparing to take the Sea Spirit out for a half-day trip into the Atlantic Ocean on Monday. Last year, three short sessions allowed Lingo and his crew help customers snag red snapper.
“It was the busiest we’ve been in probably 15 years,” Lingo said.
He wasn’t the only one landing the fish, though.
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, which governs the federal waters off Florida’s coast, deemed 106,000 could be caught from the Carolinas to the Florida Keys. The council determined about 206,000 red snapper were caught, and so the fishery was shut down.
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