Governor Ron DeSantis has announced plans to increase the fishing season for red snapper on Florida’s east coast from just a few days in recent years to a total of 39 days in 2026, leaving some local recreational offshore anglers giddy, while others are voicing concerns.
Captain Colton Hester of Vero Beach Fishing Charters has had to regularly turn customers away because he can only take up to four anglers per day during the red snapper season, which was just two days this year, July 11-12. Next year there will be a lot more opportunities for those who want to fish for red snapper, a delicious-tasting species that gather near reefs and wrecks from 30 to 600 feet underwater.
“They’re a fun fight. Whether as table fare or the fun of the fight, snapper fishing is a real attraction,” Hester said. Anglers out for a day of fishing for other bottom dwellers on other days often catch red snapper unintentionally – called “bycatch” – and are disappointed when they have to let them go, he said. Next year, providing they are within the new season dates, they won’t have to let them go, he said.
The proposed 2026 Atlantic red snapper season will be May 22 through June 20 and three long weekends in October – Oct. 2-4, Oct. 9-11 and Oct. 16-18. Weight and catch limits have yet to be announced.
An expanded season in 2026 will certainly help larger recreational charter operations, but for smaller operators things probably won’t change all that much, said Captain Eric Davis of Vero Backcountry Fishing, who can accommodate up to six anglers per trip. “I’m hearing the limit will still be one red snapper per person per day,” said Davis, who provides both inshore and offshore excursions. “The charter boats that have a large bottom fishing following will benefit more,” he said.
Both Davis and Hester said the farther north you fish in the Atlantic, the more red snapper you will find. They both prefer entering the Atlantic via the Sebastian Inlet, they said.
Captain Richard Hunt of Little Adam Fishing Charters, located in Fort Pierce, agrees, but is wary about expanding the season by that many days. “From Fort Pierce south you don’t really see that many red snapper,” Hunt said. “I don’t think (the state is expanding the season) for the right reasons. I do believe the fish need to be protected in some areas.”
DeSantis and others in politics are more interested in boosting tourism and income for hotels and restaurants, Hunt said. When fishing for red snapper and similar species in southern Atlantic waters, anglers often lose their catch, especially larger fish, to sharks while reeling in their lines, he said.
“I think the rules should be more regionalized and they should regulate the size – every other species is regulated by size,” Hunt said. “A lot of fish are disappearing and people don’t realize it.” Plans to expand the season for the entire Atlantic coast should be paused until marine scientists can do more comprehensive studies, he said.
Florida took over management of Gulf coast waters in 2018, and since then the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has gradually expanded the season there. This year, the Gulf Red Snapper Recreational Season was 127 days long.
But Atlantic coast waters are under the control of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Marine Fisheries Service. This year’s season was just two days. The 2024 season was a single day, July 12.
The reason? In 2009, after determining the population of the species was at critically low levels due to overfishing, NOAA halted all fishing for red snapper in the Atlantic. In 2012 they ruled that limited fishing could resume without harming the repopulation effort.
Since his inauguration, President Donald Trump has been reversing federal controls of dozens of industries, leading DeSantis to order FWC to submit an Exempted Fishing Permit to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick which, if granted, will allow Florida to manage red snapper fisheries in Atlantic waters.
In making the announcement on Nov. 10 in Fernandina Beach, DeSantis said taking control of red snapper management empowers Florida’s more than four million licensed anglers. “There’s a lot of people throughout Northeast Florida that really have been waiting for this for a long time,” DeSantis said.
Once Lutnick signs off on the Exempted Fishing Permit, the proposed 2026 Atlantic red snapper season will become Florida law.
The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) has lauded DeSantis’s announcement, saying the move support’s the state’s $11.1 billion recreational fishing industry. “We’ve witnessed the benefits of state management in the Gulf for years and we’re hopeful anglers and the industry will now experience these same benefits in the Atlantic for 2026 and beyond,” said Martha Guyas, Southeast Fisheries Policy Director for ASA.
Vero Beach Fishing Charters charges $1,000 per day for a party of four anglers. That includes gear, bait and fuel. To schedule a trip call Colton Hester at 772 293-5342.
Vero Backcountry Fishing charges $1,100 per day for a party of six, including gear, bait and fuel. To reach Eric Davis call 772-532-6174.
To reach Richard Hunt and Little Adam Fishing Charters call 772-370-1919. Visit extremefishingfl.com for rate information.
