Time to rethink red snapper regulations?
By Ford Walpole
Among bottom-fishing species off the coast of South Carolina, the red snapper has long been considered the crown jewel. However, by 2010, biologists determined that overfishing of the red snapper had led to a decline — by then a reality acknowledged by recreational anglers and commercial fishermen alike.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) explains, “Under the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region: A rebuilding plan was implemented in 2010 with the goal of rebuilding the South Atlantic red snapper stock by 2044. It allows for the limited harvest of red snapper as the population continues to grow. In 2010 and 2011, regulations prohibited the harvest of red snapper in the South Atlantic to protect the population from too much fishing pressure and to allow the number of fish to increase. Limited harvest was allowed in 2012-2014. Harvest was prohibited in 2015 and 2016.”
This year, the recreational season in federal waters off S.C. included a one-day season on July 12 with a limit of one fish per person. Fishermen agree that NOAA’s initial efforts to protect the species were warranted and that these regulations were successful and subsequently resulted in the recovery of a now-healthy red snapper population in our waters. In 2022, S.C. allowed the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) to relax the regulations for red snapper in state waters, a step in the right direction and a move many viewed as a sign of our state leaders encouraging the federal government to follow suit. However, in practical terms, the state law includes limited benefits for anglers since state waters extend three miles offshore, at which point anglers are subject to federal regulations. Besides catching a few juvenile fish of perhaps eight inches in length, it is rare for anglers to land red snapper in state waters.
Will Sneed has been fishing his entire life and has been bottom-fishing for the past three decades. He currently bottom-fishes with Steve Ross, Mac McGuire and Mac’s son Griffin aboard McGuire’s 31-foot Contender. “There was a legitimate decline of red snapper and there did need to be some regulations, but not to this extent and not for this long,” Sneed says. “The decline of the red snapper population did not seem to be as drastic as it was portrayed. The problem with their research, in my opinion, is that it is done in federal waters, which include anywhere from Maine to Florida.”
Many suggest that different fishing grounds should call for different measures. “South Florida might have a lot of pressure on red snapper — because it’s easier to get to the fish down there. But here, you have to go more than 10 miles out, and a lot of people are not willing to put in that much work to catch the fish,” Sneed says.
“We catch them from 70-100 feet of water, around 15 miles out. On a calm day, we can get out there in 45 minutes or less, and I know I will limit out on bottom fish. In S.C., we are covered up with red snapper, while other places may not be. When I bottom-fish out of Key West, there aren’t as many red snapper as we have here, but there are a lot more grouper,” he continues.
S.C. fishermen declare that a “healthy” red snapper population is an understatement — it would indeed be more accurate to state that we are “overrun” with red snapper in the federal waters off our coast, a reality that has resulted in negative conservation consequences. “Now there is added pressure on other species since you can’t catch red snapper,” Sneed explains. “And it is hard to catch grouper because you can’t get through the red snapper since they will eat all of your bait. We literally have to move spots to get away from the red snapper.
“Right now, I feel like the red snapper are eating up everything on the reef — especially the black sea bass and anything else they can get their mouth on. Red snapper are supposed to be a bottom to mid-range fish in the water column. Now there are so many of them out there that when we put out chum bags for cobia, red snapper swim all the way up to the surface,” he says.
Sneed and Mac MacGuire point out the problems of a one-day red snapper season. Boats are on top of one another as though everybody is required to fish at the same time. It also presents a safety hazard: If a small-craft advisory is issued on the day of the season, the date will be changed, but if the seas are rough but so rough as to warrant a small-craft advisory, the date remains. This results in a number of small boats heading out for snapper in weather they ordinarily would not — and should not — attempt to brave.
“To me, red snapper just seems like one of those regulations that has gotten ignored. NOAA does not seem to have a good pulse of the actual red snapper population off the coast of S.C.,” Mac McGuire says. “There was a time you couldn’t catch them at all,” he admits, acknowledging the initial need for restrictions 15 years ago. “But now, you don’t catch sea bass anymore; all you catch are snapper — probably because they are probably eating everything else.
“This particular red snapper population goes from North Carolina to northern Florida, but the entire east coast has the same regulations. I don’t know where the federal biologists are getting their information. Maybe there is a shortage in part of the region. If Florida has an issue, then Florida needs to manage differently than Georgia and S.C.,” says McGuire.
McGuire also comments as to why we might have such a prolific red snapper population whereas other states do not: “In my opinion, S.C. has a lot of area for bottom fishing off our coast — as opposed to that of central to southern Florida. Northern Florida would be comparable to our coast insofar as how far it is to the ledge. My advice would be to change the regulations to make it a smaller area of protection, state by state, rather than the entire region.”
Will Sneed agrees: “They have offshore zones for Myrtle Beach, Charleston, and Beaufort, and each zone has different grids. I’m no scientist, but it seems like we could leave some grids open and keep others closed, and doing so would leave a healthy population of red snapper dispersed evenly off our coast.”
Chris Morrison offers the commercial fishing perspective. A McClellanville native, he grew up working on shrimp boats and was a professional fishing guide in Florida for 20 years. For the past seven years, Morrison has run the Game On out of Crosby’s Seafood on Folly. “We have a very limited commercial season for red snapper; the quota is usually filled in less than two months. You can only carry 75 pounds of red snapper on board per trip (not per day) and I usually fish three-day trips. Every species of fish we harvest is on an annual quota; every pound is documented,” he explains. “I fish for red snapper in 70 to 250 feet of water and have caught them in 430 feet. If the fish is longer than a yardstick, I consider it a big one.
“We are usually trying to catch grouper and vermillion snapper, but the red snapper are so thick that we have to leave the spot,” Morrison goes on. “People are saying red snapper are eating up all of the sea bass, and they must be because we don’t catch those like we used to. Red snapper are big fish — they must be eating something, so it has to be the sea bass and grunts.
“The management zone for red snapper runs from the Virginia and North Carolina line all the way down to the Dry Tortugas, and it is managed as one zone,” Morrison continues. “In that zone, though, the water temperature varies greatly. Red snapper are thick in the central zone —from northern Florida up through Georgia and S.C. They are the thickest from Cape Canaveral up to Cape Hatteras.
“The commercial fishery requires extremely detailed documentation. For instance, every pound of fish we land — along with the depths and area caught — is logged on detailed forms provided to both the state and federal government. In addition, I am required to carry a NOAA observer with me at least once a year. We are very tightly regulated. NOAA does hold meetings several times a year to ask for public input, but there are no indications they will change the regulations any time soon. As far as recreational fishing for red snapper, a lot of people suggest a one fish per day limit, or a tag program in which anglers are allowed a certain number of fish per year,” Morrison says.
Mac Maguire suggests that more interaction between biologists and anglers would benefit the recreational red snapper industry. “You would think biologists would be waiting back at the ramps and marinas, collecting data, but I never have seen them,” he posits.
Will Sneed agrees: “When we are bottom fishing for triggerfish or sea bass, we will catch red snapper weighing between 15-20 pounds all day long. I have a video of us catching one red snapper after another.” In response to claims that the red snapper population off the S.C. coast remains in jeopardy, “I would invite the federal biologists to come fishing with us any time they want so they can see just how many fish are out there!” he says.
Ford Walpole lives and writes on John’s Island and is the author of many articles on the outdoors. He teaches English at James Island Charter High School and the College of Charleston and may be reached at fordwalpole@gmail.com.
