Gulf of Mexico

Red Snapper: A rocky road to recovery

After decades of severe overfishing, fishery managers for the first time have set scientifically recommended limits on red snapper catch. In 2007, they shortened the recreational season while keeping strict limits on commercial fishing. Allowable red snapper catch was cut from a total of 9 million to 5 million pounds. But during the last two years, recreational fishermen have hauled in more than a million more pounds each year than allowed. Fishery managers were forced to shorten the fishing season to get better control.

This situation is harmful for red snapper because managers set the fishing limit at the exact amount that is safe for the fish population. They didn’t include a cautious margin of error despite the difficulty of controlling the exact amounts of fish caught.

There are some indications that parts of the recovery plan are working. Red snapper are becoming more plentiful, bigger and are spreading out over a wider area of the Gulf. But these signs will be just an illusion of plenty if more cautious measures are not strictly followed.