‘There’s a lot of people throughout Northeast Florida that really have been waiting for this for a long time.’
Gov. Ron DeSantis is again pushing for the state to gain control of red snapper management from the feds to give fishermen a longer season in the Atlantic Ocean.
DeSantis announced that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has submitted an exempted fishing permit (EFP) to the U.S. Department of Commerce to allow Florida manage the recreational red snapper fishing season in the Atlantic starting in 2026.
The state wants a 39-day recreational fishing season in the Atlantic for anglers and for-hire operators, DeSantis said.
At a press conference in Fernandina Beach, DeSantis said he was confident the permit will be granted and “warmly received.”
“I’ve spoken both with President (Donald) Trump as well as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and the encouraging thing is they’re receptive to this and they support us being able to move ahead with what we’re doing,” DeSantis said.
The state already has authority to manage red snapper in the Gulf. This year’s fishing season lasted a historic 126 days.
But the federal government still oversees Atlantic waters. DeSantis has pushed to change that, speaking about it a handful of times at his regular press conferences.
In previous years, concerns have been raised about the declining numbers of red snapper in the water. But anglers have gotten frustrated over short fishing seasons, like one in 2022 that lasted two days, as the red snapper population rebounded.
“We know that we can do this effectively and we know that this is something that could make a big difference for our recreational anglers, particularly in Northeast Florida,” DeSantis said Monday. “There’s a lot of people throughout Northeast Florida that really have been waiting for this for a long time. And so, finally, we’ve got our receptive audience in Washington, D.C., where we can get it done for folks.”
DeSantis did not take questions from the media Monday.
