NEW ORLEANS — Members of Congress say they expect relaxed catch limits for red snapper this year in light of a new study finding three times the number previously thought to swim in the Gulf of Mexico, but experts note that tripled quotas are extremely unlikely.
The Great Red Snapper Count announced Wednesday said there appear to be at least 110 million adult red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, rather than the previous federal estimate of 36 million.
“The preliminary results … prove what Louisiana fishermen knew all along: red snapper stocks in the Gulf of Mexico are thriving,” said House Republican Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana.
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