NOAA Fisheries in Fishery Bulletin FB19-047 announced the closure of the commercial harvest of red snapper in federal waters of the South Atlantic at 12:01 local time on Aug. 30.

During the commercial closure, all sale or purchase of red snapper is prohibited.

The closure applies in both state and federal waters for vessels that have a federal commercial permit for South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper.

All harvest or possession of red snapper in or from federal waters is now prohibited, as the recreational fishing season is also closed for 2019.

The 2019 commercial catch limit is 124,815 pounds whole weight. Commercial landings are projected to reach the commercial catch limit. According to the accountability measure, harvest should close to prevent the annual catch limit from being exceeded.

Unless specified otherwise, commercial harvest will open on July 13, 2020 for the 2020 commercial fishing season.

READ MORE IN OUR ON THE WATER SECTION HERE.