Mississippi supports regional red snapper management bill

Mississippi is in favor of regional management of red snapper.

The state supports H.R. 3094, known as the Gulf States Red Snapper Management Authority Act.

U.S. Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana sponsored the 16-page bill on July 16, 2015.

Gov. Phil Bryant sent a letter in support of Graves’ legislation to House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi after federal funding was stripped from the bill last month.

With the bill, the five Gulf states’ chief fish and wildlife officials will be in charge of red snapper management in federal waters.

“Recreational fishermen in every Gulf state need flexibility when it comes to fishing for red snapper,” Mississippi Department of Marine Resources chief scientific officer Kelly Lucas said. “In Mississippi, we believe that regional management would give our anglers the flexibility they want and need when fishing for red snapper.”

CCA Mississippi endorses the act.

“The fishery differs to some extent across the Gulf of Mexico, but the states realized that they could manage this fishery better than it has been managed — or likely ever will be managed — by the federal government,” CCA Mississippi Government Relations Committee chairman F.J. Eicke said.

“The Gulf Council has acted in ways that contradict the Magnuson-Stevens Act in addressing this fishery to the point that our public marine resources have been privatized and squeeze the private recreational anglers. The numbers of private recreational anglers are growing steadily and yet this factor cannot be incorporated in the decisions of the Gulf Council.”

Recreational anglers can fish for red snapper in state waters until Sept. 5 or through Labor Day weekend. The bag limit will be two red snapper per person with a minimum size of 16 inches.

This story was originally published July 23, 2016 at 3:00 PM with the headline "Mississippi supports regional red snapper management bill."