The extended season was supposed to start May 22nd, but a federal judge deemed it unlawful, sending anglers reeling ahead of holiday weekend.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A late change in the red snapper season law has left fishermen reeling.

Recreational red snapper season was supposed to start Friday until a judge blocked it just hours before it began.

This year was supposed to feature a drastically longer red snapper season on the Atlantic Coast – from just two days last year to 39 this year.

“Today went fine,” said Captain Chad Starling with Team Buck Rogers Fishing Charters as he cleaned fish at the Mayport boat ramp. “It would have been a whole lot better if we could’ve kept the red snapper we were promised to keep.”

Starling says he has a dozen trips planned over Memorial Day weekend with people who traveled into town to fish for red snapper.

However, the night before those trips started, Starling learned they may not get to keep any they catch after all.

“We caught some monsters,” said Starling. “We had some that were 15-16 pounds. Every time we caught one, a guy would say, ‘Can we keep that one?’ I’d say, ‘Yeah, we could’ve. Look how many meals we’re missing out on.'”

A federal district court judge sided with the Southeastern Fisheries Association, which represents the commercial fishing industry, to determine Florida’s extension of red snapper season was unlawful.

The head of the association shared overfishing concerns and pointed out red snapper populations are on a rebuilding plan with a target for 2044.

“There was no information at all in these proposed EFPs as to how many red snapper these states expected to be harvested,” said Executive Director Bob Zales. “It could be that there’d have been no season in the future and no commercial quota allowable in the future.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke in Jacksonville Friday and shared his frustration with the decision, acknowledging people may have traveled for the fishing opportunity on the holiday weekend.

“I just think it’s really disrespectful to try to pull the rug out from under them, especially given there’s so many fish in the sea,” said DeSanits. “It’s amazing how many of these fish are there.”

DeSantis assured fishermen Florida Fish and Wildlife won’t give them a hard time about snapper caught within state waters assuming they stay within the two fish, twenty inch limit, but Captain Starling says he doesn’t want to take a chance with so much uncertainty.

“Running a charter business, I can’t risk it,” said Starling. “It’s all political theater and I’m sick of it.”

Florida Fish and Wildlife shared it told its officers about the “unpredictable nature” of the situation, and they’ll make sure to educate boaters within their jurisdictional waters.