Dauphin Island Times

Big changes to federal fishing and shrimping regulations which could have an impact on recreational and sport fishing all along the gulf shores are under consideration.

Among the options being discussed are:

• Reducing the daily red snapper limit from four to one per-angler.
• Limiting commercial red snapper fishermen to areas where the gulf is at least 15 fathoms deep
• Reducing the combined commercial and recreational red snapper quota by 78 percent in total. This would reduce the current yearly take from approximately 9 million pounds to around 2 million pounds.

These new regulations, should they go into effect in some form, will likely have the most significant impact on Alabama, in terms of recreational and sport fishing, according to the Mobile Register:

Commercial red snapper fishermen are greatly outnumbered by recreational fishermen in Alabama. Alabama brings in 43 percent of the Gulf's recreational red snapper landings, and only 3 percent of the region's commercial red snapper landings, according to federal statistics.

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Learn more about the proposed changes from the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council's Scoping Document