August 13, 2018 — This year’s six-day season for red snapper began Friday, which is just the fifth time the federal government lifted its strict protection of the species since it declared them to be severely overfished in 2010.
By sunrise Friday, Mayport’s boat ramp was nearing capacity as fishermen made the run offshore to federal waters, where virtually all red snapper off Jacksonville’s coast live.
The brief season, which runs until Sunday and resumes Aug. 17 to Aug. 19, conjures bittersweet feelings for many anglers who believe the federal government grossly underestimates the number of red snapper.
As he bought a box of frozen bait Thursday at Mayport’s B&M Bait and Tackle in preparation for his opening day trip, local angler Bill Jones said his crew won’t have a hard time finding red snapper, as they catch scores of them every time they go out.
Because of that, he said the short season and one fish per person limit feels like a “slap in the face.”
“I spearfish a lot, and there are snapper everywhere at every rock, every wreck,” he said.
Red snapper have been a thorny subject since the federal government released a study in 2010 that found the species had been driven to dangerously low numbers by decades of overfishing.