The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources announced that Red Snapper season has been extended from July 16 – October 31.
“I believe a state season will have minimal impact on the resource and will benefit our local recreational anglers,” said Jamie Miller, executive director of the MDMR in a release from the department. “We want them to have every opportunity to fish for Red Snapper, and extending the state season through October will provide anglers greater flexibility to plan trips and will provide the MDMR with additional landings data.”
The bag limit is two Red Snapper a day per person measuring in at no less than 16 inches, according to the release.
Each species of fish has a different size limit depending on the state, said Dustin Bounds, a charter boat captain in Louisiana.
Federal Red Snapper season started on June 1 and lasted for ten days. During that time, recreational anglers are allowed to fish anywhere, said Bounds. States now have their own fishing season, which according to Bounds is relatively new.
“About four years ago, states went in and implemented their own season,” said Bounds.
On July 1, 2013, the state law extending fishing waters to nine miles went into effect. However, state waters and federal waters are two different things, and anything outside of three miles could get anglers in trouble.
“Federal waters trump everything, so fishing outside of three miles is at your own risk,” said Bounds.
Red Snapper may not be taken in to federal waters, and doing so could result in citations from federal officers, according to the release.
The MDMR also requires fishermen to participate in the reporting program for Red Snapper. There are several ways fishermen can report their catch, including a smart phone app, a call center and a website.
“The purpose of this electronic reporting system is to provide fishery managers the best available data to ensure Mississippi anglers the most opportunities and greatest flexibility for Red Snapper harvest,” said Matt Hill, director of MDMR’s Finfish Bureau in the release. “The mandatory reporting system will provide for accurate and timely data that will be used for better resource management.”
The name of the reporting system app is Tails N Scales, and can be downloaded from the App Store on IOS devices or from Google Play on Android devices. Anglers can also go to www.tailsnscales.org to create a profile and plan their fishing trip. For further information on reporting data, visit the Red Snapper page at dmr.ms.gov.