TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — President Donald Trump on Friday approved the permits for Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to manage their own red snapper seasons.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) reacted to the move on X, saying that Florida’s season would begin on May 22.
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Action News Jax told you that Florida’s proposal included:
- A 39-day recreational season
- Two-phased season
- Summer: From May 22 (Memorial Day Weekend) through June 20
- Fall: Three-day weekends in October (Oct. 2–4, 9–11, and 16–18)
Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) called Trump’s approval a “huge win” on X:
“GREAT NEWS for our Florida fishermen! @POTUS approved ALL state permits for the 2026 Red Snapper season. Biden tried to shut down our oceans. We fought back, and WON. This is a HUGE win. We are back in business!"
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Georgia Rep. Buddy Carter (R) said he couldn’t wait to “get out on the water”:
“Thank you, President Trump, for your common-sense approach to red snapper resource management! Like @POTUS, I understand that Georgia’s anglers are the experts and better equipped to set conservation and fishing policies that protect fish stocks and our way of life, not Washington bureaucrats. As Co-Chair of the South Atlantic Red Snapper Task Force, this is a HUGE win for anglers that we have tirelessly advocated for. We’re Making Red Snapper Fishing Great Again, and I can’t wait to get out on the water!"
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In February, DeSantis announced when NOAA “officially accepted Florida’s request to assume management of red snapper in the South Atlantic by opening the proposal for public comment.”
We told you in November when the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission submitted an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to allow state management of the recreational red snapper fishing season in the Federal Waters in the Atlantic Ocean.
For the past eight years, Florida has managed private recreational red snapper in the Gulf, turning what was once a three-day season into an over 120-day season in 2025. In 2025, the Red Snapper season in the Atlantic was only two days long.
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