June 30, 2017 — Regulations surrounding red snapper are the subject of a lot of chatter on fishing docks throughout the panhandle.
The three day red snapper season in federal waters was recently expanded to cover most of the summer, but there was a trade-off in a reduced number of red snapper days in state waters.
So, are the current fishing regulations helpful? Or harmful? It depends on who you ask.
Behind a local marina in Panama City sits a third generation charter captain who makes a living off of fishing.
“Our limits have gotten smaller, the amount of days that we get are definitely smaller. I make my full living charter fishing here in Panama City, been doing it my whole life, it supports me and my family, I’ve actually got twins on the way, they’re going to be here later in the year,” Hook ’em Charters Captain BJ Burkett said.
Captain BJ tell us the current red snapper fishing regulations in federal waters, which start nine nautical miles out, hinder his ability to profit as much as he used too.
“We started out, I’d say about 10 years ago we used to have 190 day red snapper season and we’re down to a, this year we got 49 days for the federal charter for hire industry. We have had as few as 9 days in a year a couple years back, but the seasons have definitely changed. It’s kinda sad in our eyes,” Burkett said.
Representatives from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission tell us those regulations are enforced for a reason.
“Conservation laws are in place, you know, to ensure the natural resource is abundant and there for future generations to use,” Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission representative Rebekah Nelson.
We also reached out to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, who responded with a statement saying in part, NOAA Fisheries regulate fishing to help foster healthy fish populations. It continues to say fish populations can be depleted if they’re caught faster than they can reproduce.