Rutherford’s Red Snapper Act has officially been approved by the natural resources committee

WASHINGTON, D.C — The House Natural Resources Committee voted to advance the Red Snapper Act.

This legislation is meant to prevent the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from implementing area closures in the South Atlantic until the South Atlantic Great Red Snapper Count is complete. This is so that the findings are added into the fishery’s stock assessment.

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Due to growing abundance of red snapper, concerns have been raised about the number of red snapper encounters and discards. To decrease discards, fishery managers have considered area closures on all bottom fishing.

This is despite NOAA’s recent acknowledgement that there is a high level of uncertainty in their data on fishing effort and discard mortality. Anglers in Florida add $13.9 billion to the national economy – higher than any other state – through the manufacturing and sale of fishing equipment and gear, hotel lodging, restaurants, charter boat trips, and more. The implementation of a widespread bottom closure would jeopardize Florida’s fishing economy and fail to solve overfishing.

Upon the committee’s passage of H.R. 4587, Congressman Rutherford released the following statement:

“The Red Snapper Act will address longstanding management concerns held by thousands of anglers across Florida and the South Atlantic and will help support our nation’s local economies,” said Congressman Rutherford. “In Florida’s 5th Congressional District alone, the recreational fishing industry supports nearly 4,500 local jobs. Florida’s anglers deserve dependable access to red snapper fishing. I am grateful to House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, committee members, cosponsors, and advocates for their role in moving this legislation forward.”

“H.R. 4587 prevents the Biden administration from implementing erroneous and burdensome regulations on red snapper fishing without the proper science to back them up,” said House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman. “The South Atlantic red snapper is a highly sought commercial and recreational reef fish whose annual harvest levels are dependent on fishery management decisions based on stock assessments. By preventing area closures in the South Atlantic without necessary scientific research, this committee is maintaining our priority of using fact-based data to promote responsible environmental policy. I want to thank Representative Rutherford and all the cosponsors of this bill for their work on this issue, as it will benefit thousands of commercial and recreational fishermen who depend on these resources.”

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The Red Snapper Act has been endorsed by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Congressional Sportmen’s Foundation, and the Center for Sportfishing Policy.

“The Red Snapper Act is key in ensuring that the best science is used to inform South Atlantic snapper-grouper management, rather than rushing into hasty, job-killing decisions,” said American Sportfishing Association (ASA) Southeast Fisheries Policy Director Martha Guyas. “Widespread closures are not needed and would be catastrophic to Florida’s nearly $14 billion recreational fishing industry. The American Sportfishing Association thanks Representative John Rutherford and bill co-sponsors, including committee members Daniel Webster and Garrett Graves, for introducing this science-informed legislation. ASA also applauds Chairman Bruce Westerman and other members of committee for their approval of the Red Snapper Act.”

“The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) thanks Congressman Rutherford for his leadership on this legislation,” said Jessica McCawley, Director of FWC’s Division of Marine Fisheries Management. “The snapper grouper fishery is both popular and economically important to the state of Florida, and has been for generations, so it is critical that fishery managers have the most current and independent data before making management decisions. The Red Snapper Act will prevent closures until all the necessary data has been analyzed; this is great, conservation-centered policy.”

Read the full bill text here.

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