A federal decision to extend the fishing season for Gulf of Mexico red snapper this summer is likely to lead to overfishing and could allow private recreational anglers to take up to three times as much fish as they are legally allowed under scientifically sound catch limits, according to an analysis of fishery data by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Pew analyzed estimated red snapper catch rates and projections from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service and, in addition to the finding above, concluded that the total 2017 landings in the Gulf by all fishermen will probably exceed legally allowed amounts by at least 37 percent.
That’s a disturbing scenario for a species that plummeted to low population levels from overfishing in the 1990s. Gulf red snapper have been recovering thanks to federally mandated, science-based catch limits and court-ordered measures to prevent catching the fish faster than they can reproduce, but that progress is now in jeopardy.
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