by Jacob Graddick
Snapper season has always been regulated and monitored more then any other season along the gulf coast. 2020 has been no different but I wanted to talk about the reason why this years season will be closed earlier then even in years past. If you are a normal red snapper fisherman, then you know these seasons and regulations are ridiculous and do not go with what us fisherman see each and every trip.
Fisherman that fish snapper know they have taken over the Gulf of Mexico but are still the most protected fish during the year. We complain each year but the people who make the laws do not hear our cries and continue to ignore the people who truly know the population and that it has gotten out of hand.
Last year, snapper season went all the way until late July and even when the “quota” had been met we were given two additional weekends in early August. Our last trip on our family boat was August 7th. This year they are talking about closing the season in early July. Why is this?
Each boat that goes out and catches snapper is required to submit a “snapper game check report” identifying how many snapper they have caught and how many they may have released or killed by catching them.
My thoughts for why they are closing the season short is because more people have been able to fish the snapper population due to Covid19 as many people do not have the rigorous work schedule like they normally would during the summer months. Less people have jobs and this is leading to more people taking fish and reporting them to the quota. This has limited the amount of days we will have to fish snapper significantly. People have been able to take days off that they could not last year and this has lead to a spike in snapper being caught in 2020.
Fish Nuts 