SAVANNAH ― It’s called “fishing,” not “catching.”
So goes an unlucky fisherman’s joke. But off the coast of Georgia and neighboring states, a reportedly robust red snapper population has recreational anglers casting for a longer catch season after 15 years of restrictions that limited fishing to four days or less each summer.
Not everyone has taken the bait.
Georgia officials late Thursday withdrew plans for a two-month red snapper season that was to open July, 1 after a federal court injunction against state-run programs in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina for the Atlantic coast.
Fisheries managers in those states had meant the expanded season for recreational anglers as a measurement tool to gauge the health of the species. A consortium of commercial fishermen argued in a lawsuit it could threaten the red snapper’s recovery.
Georgia plans to tweak its program to address the court’s concerns and resubmit it for approval. The goal is a 30-to-60-day season in the fall.
State officials will not ask for the fishery to open for an early July weekend, though, unlike in recent years.
“Anglers would rather see us fight for a longer season and not get anything than take two days again,” said Doug Haymans, director of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Coastal Resources Division.
The uncertainty frustrates recreational anglers and charter boat captains ready for a red snapper fishing renaissance as well as state officials eager to gather data. Red snapper are a prized catch, both because of the fight they provide the fisherman and the taste of their flaky meat.
And their population numbers, experts now suspect, have gone from slumping to surging on the Atlantic coast since limits were first imposed in 2011. Georgia’s program would give fisheries managers a comprehensive look by requiring fishermen to use a cellphone app to record where they catch red snapper, their size and whether the fish were kept or released.
“We believe state-led management and improved data collection can provide a better path forward, and we will continue working with our partners to pursue that goal,” said Walter Rabon, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Most red snapper caught for commercial sale is in the Gulf of Mexico, where restrictions are looser.
Credit: Photo courtesy of Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Credit: Photo courtesy of Georgia Department of Natural Resources
‘Hell yeah’ moment put on ice
As word of plans to extend the season for all of July and August spread earlier this year, it marked a “hell yeah” moment for Capt. Brian Woelber of Savannah’s One More Cast Charters. He knows firsthand the red snapper recovery has been prolific and got a reminder during a May charter targeting grouper.
The charter landed about 25 red snapper weighing 20 pounds or more at drops just five miles offshore — much closer than what locals call the Savannah Snapper Banks, which begin about 30 miles from the beach. Woelber had to release all those landed fish.
“You can’t drop anywhere without catching red snapper there are so many,” he said.
The red snapper rebound is common knowledge among saltwater fishing enthusiasts, he said. In the three weeks between the announcement of the extended season plan and the federal injunction, Woelber booked $30,000 worth of red snapper trips.
He anticipates having to refund all that money because “as far I’m concerned, the season is canceled” for 2026, he said.
Red snapper numbers, particularly off Georgia’s coast, have posed a paradox for fishery managers for years. Once the species was deemed overfished and restrictions put in place 15 years ago, tracking the population became a challenge.
Red snapper was the most-sought charter catch, and captains such as Woelber either turned their focus to inshore fishing or shuttered their businesses completely. Recreational anglers serious enough about fishing to have offshore boats and the inclination to motor to deep water have always been few, and many of them use private docks and aren’t subject to the fish surveys conducted at marinas and public boat ramps.
Given the small sample size, the survey data provides an overview of the state of the fishery — is it trending up or down — but fails as a counting tool, Haymans said.
Credit: Photo courtesy of Georgia DNR Coastal Resources Division
Credit: Photo courtesy of Georgia DNR Coastal Resources Division
Released but not necessarily returned
Another obstacle in red snapper fishery management is illustrated by Woelber’s recent grouper fishing trip.
Red snapper share water with several other sportfishing species. Red snapper won’t ignore a fisherman’s bait just because it’s intended for a sea bass, a mackerel or a vermilion snapper.
Inadvertent catches are inevitable, and the mortality rate for released red snapper is high. They live among reefs and other rocky “live bottom” sections of the seafloor in waters ranging from 60 to 150 feet deep. Caught red snapper tend to undergo tissue damage because of barometric pressure changes, known as barotrauma, in being reeled to the surface.
If not released properly using tools known as descending devices, red snapper have little chance to return to their depths. And even when those methods are employed, the fish are released at around 65 feet, not along the bottom where they can hide, making them easy prey for sharks.
“So even in trying to do the right thing, you’re killing a lot of them,” said Del Love, a recreational fisherman with the Savannah Sport Fishing Club. “Either they go belly up, or the gray ghosts get them.”
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
Commercial fishermen opposed expansion
These losses reinforce the position of those who argued for the federal judge’s injunction. A consortium of commercial fishermen along the South Atlantic coast says opening the season for two months would put potentially devastating pressure on the red snapper fishery.
The lone Georgia-based commercial fishing permit holder, Charlie Phillips of McIntosh County, said the now-withdrawn plans gave recreational fisherman a way around catch limit goals. As written, the state programs lacked a catch quota, making it impossible to rein in potential overfishing.
Phillips insists the commercial fishermen’s opposition is about protecting the fishery, not their business interests. They’re restricted to 73 pounds per trip over a month and a half and are not asking for looser limits.
A recreational red snapper fishing program that could provide better data without posing undue risk to the fishery would “tickle (commercial fisherman) to death,” Phillips said.
State officials aim to test that sentiment this fall with their tweaked plan.
“The weather would be colder but you’d potentially get more shots at fishing than in July and August given all the thunderstorm activity,” Haymans said. “We are confident we can get a better grasp of the fishery. We just have to get open, and for more than just a few days.”
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