Snapper Season Extended
Posted: September 3rd, 2010, 3:21 pm
I'm sure most of you fellas have already heard this, but just in case you haven't, some good news. 
- The red snapper season in Florida waters has been extended by state government officials.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conversation Commission announced Thursday the season would be reopened for eight three-day weekends this fall beginning on Oct. 1, according to a press release from the agency.
“It’ll be a help,” said Kelly Windes, a Destin boat captain. “I wasn’t crazy about the weekend business, I’d rather have the whole month of October… but it’s still better than nothing.”
Windes said he has already started calling customers who’d booked to go out on his boat, Sunrise, to share the news.
Some of them, he said, opted to change their trips to the weekends to take advantage of the extended season.
The red snapper, he said, is a favorite for tourists and the extended season will be a blessing for local fishermen.
“It’s a good thing,” he said.
The regular season for red snapper off Florida’s coast took place between June 1 and July 24, but the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill prevented most people from participating. As a result, the annual harvest quota was not met so FWC decided to reopen the season.
Red snapper seasons are typically determined by estimates of how many of the fish can be caught in a given period without impacting the red snapper population, the release stated.
“This is just what the doctor ordered,” said FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto in the press release. “(The extended season) gives folks an extra 24 days to enjoy Gulf red snapper fishing at a time when the weather is usually very nice and on weekends when most people are able to take off from work.”
Each fisherman will be allowed to keep two red snappers that are more than 16 inches in length every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from Oct. 1 through Nov. 21
- The red snapper season in Florida waters has been extended by state government officials.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conversation Commission announced Thursday the season would be reopened for eight three-day weekends this fall beginning on Oct. 1, according to a press release from the agency.
“It’ll be a help,” said Kelly Windes, a Destin boat captain. “I wasn’t crazy about the weekend business, I’d rather have the whole month of October… but it’s still better than nothing.”
Windes said he has already started calling customers who’d booked to go out on his boat, Sunrise, to share the news.
Some of them, he said, opted to change their trips to the weekends to take advantage of the extended season.
The red snapper, he said, is a favorite for tourists and the extended season will be a blessing for local fishermen.
“It’s a good thing,” he said.
The regular season for red snapper off Florida’s coast took place between June 1 and July 24, but the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill prevented most people from participating. As a result, the annual harvest quota was not met so FWC decided to reopen the season.
Red snapper seasons are typically determined by estimates of how many of the fish can be caught in a given period without impacting the red snapper population, the release stated.
“This is just what the doctor ordered,” said FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto in the press release. “(The extended season) gives folks an extra 24 days to enjoy Gulf red snapper fishing at a time when the weather is usually very nice and on weekends when most people are able to take off from work.”
Each fisherman will be allowed to keep two red snappers that are more than 16 inches in length every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from Oct. 1 through Nov. 21