Thread: 2025 Changes Red Snapper Season

https://www.outdooralabama.com/artic...snapper-season

March 13, 2025

The Marine Resources Division (MRD) of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) announces that Alabama state waters and federal waters will open to private and state-licensed charter vessel anglers for red snapper harvest on Friday, May 23, 2025.

NEW FOR 2025
The season will be open 7 days a week from May 23 until 11:59 p.m. on Monday June 30, 2025. The season will then transition to four-day weekends starting July 4 until the private angler quota is met. The Alabama private angler quota for 2025 is set by NOAA Fisheries and is anticipated to be 664,552 pounds.

Snapper numbers are way down from a few years back. Remember when everyone was ticked off a couple years ago when the feds cut the recreational quota in half? Well, we couldnt even catch that many with the 4 day weekends lasting the from memorial day through the end of the year. Keeping the whole month of June open will probably get the quota caught, but I believe we have swung the pendulum too far. Even some Destin charter boats were disappointed when their season was reopened last fall.

Originally Posted by Green_Steel

Snapper numbers are way down from a few years back. Remember when everyone was ticked off a couple years ago when the feds cut the recreational quota in half? Well, we couldnt even catch that many with the 4 day weekends lasting the from memorial day through the end of the year. Keeping the whole month of June open will probably get the quota caught, but I believe we have swung the pendulum too far. Even some Destin charter boats were disappointed when their season was reopened last fall.

Sharks have their quota too ;-)

Yes, released undersized fish mortality is a big issue now, especially with Dolphin around. When the fish were bigger, you rarely caught undersized fish. Also, realize that I almost exclusively fish within 9 miles. This area tends to get depleted first. If I had the ability (hint, hint), I would love to see the snapper catch graph for all years on one chart. That would clearly show the dramatic decline. They only show 3 years as I recall. The slope of the graph (lbs per day caught) was insane a few years back.