Alexandria, Va. and Houston, Texas – May 15, 2026 – The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) have jointly moved to intervene in litigation challenging the National Marine Fisheries Service’s approval of state Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs) for the 2026 South Atlantic red snapper season.

The lawsuit seeks to overturn a landmark pilot program that will allow Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina to implement expanded recreational red snapper seasons while collecting critical fisheries data to inform future management improvements.

ASA and CCA filed their motion to intervene in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to ensure recreational anglers and the recreational fishing industry have a voice in defending the EFPs and the access opportunities they provide.

“For years, anglers have faced extremely limited red snapper seasons despite the stock rebuilding far ahead of schedule,” said Glenn Hughes, president and CEO of the American Sportfishing Association. “These pilot programs represent a transformational opportunity to improve recreational data collection, expand reasonable public access and advance state-led management approaches that have already proven successful in the Gulf. ASA is intervening to help protect that progress for recreational anglers and the sportfishing industry.”

“These pilot programs are about creating an improved recreational data collection and management framework for recreational fisheries while maintaining strong conservation standards,” said CCA President Pat Murray. “Recreational anglers have waited years for management that reflects the stock’s rebuilt status and current abundance trends. The states are stepping up with more responsive management and better data collection, and we believe that effort deserves strong support.”

South Atlantic red snapper harvest was closed in 2010 as part of a rebuilding plan. Conservation measures and angler compliance helped the stock rebound nearly two decades ahead of schedule, and the fishery is no longer considered overfished or undergoing overfishing. However, federal recreational harvest estimates continued to drive extremely short seasons, including a one-day season in 2024 and a two-day season in 2025.

Both organizations emphasized that improved recreational access and strong conservation standards can and should work together.

Under the approved EFPs, Florida’s recreational season will span 39 days split between summer and fall, while Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina will each have 62-day seasons beginning July 1. The states will also collect catch and effort information from anglers and for-hire operators to evaluate improved recreational management approaches.

ASA and CCA noted that similar state-led pilot programs in the Gulf of America helped pave the way for long-term state management of Gulf red snapper beginning in 2020, resulting in expanded fishing opportunities while still meeting federal conservation requirements.

The organizations emphasized that the lawsuit directly threatens recreational fishing access and the economic activity supported by the recreational fishing community across the South Atlantic region.

About the American Sportfishing Association

The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) is the sportfishing industry’s trade association committed to representing the interests of the sportfishing industry and the entire recreational fishing community. ASA gives the industry and anglers a unified voice when emerging laws and policies could significantly affect sportfishing business or recreational fishing itself. ASA also safeguards and promotes the enduring economic, conservation and social values of sportfishing in America.

About the Coastal Conservation Association

Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) is a nonprofit organization comprised of recreational anglers and conservation advocates dedicated to conserving, promoting and enhancing the present and future availability of coastal marine resources for the benefit and enjoyment of the general public.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has partnered with CCA Georgia and SRM Concrete to enhance an inshore artificial reef in Wassaw Sound by deploying specially designed concrete structures into the water. The project repurposes donated concrete materials into reef pyramids that provide essential habitat for fish and other marine life, helping strengthen the coastal ecosystem while also improving recreational fishing opportunities. By turning excess construction material into long-term underwater infrastructure, the collaboration highlights a practical, conservation-focused approach to habitat restoration along Georgia’s coast.

Two truckloads of leftover concrete have found a new purpose beneath the waters of the Wilmington River, where specially molded concrete pyramids were deployed as artificial reefs to create habitat for fish and other marine life and enhance local fishing opportunities along Georgia’s coast. The project was the result of more than a year of planning and collaboration between SRM Concrete and the Coastal Conservation Association of Georgia, with support from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography to load and transport the reef modules to their drop site. Instead of being recycled into road base, the concrete now serves as eco-friendly underwater structure that will benefit species like red drum, speckled trout, and flounder, and plans are underway to expand the reef program with additional designs and deployments in other coastal communities.

A tumultuous chapter in red snapper management history is set to come to an end for Georgia after all four South Atlantic states filed exempted fishing permit applications this week outlining plans to take over data collection and management of their recreational sectors.

Red snapper has been the center of a firestorm of controversy in recent years as recreational fishing seasons have been limited to one or two days – and often closed entirely – despite the population being larger than any time in recorded history. South Atlantic red snapper is currently managed by NOAA Fisheries through the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Unnecessary federal restrictions arise from high levels of uncertainty in recreational catch data collected by the federal government.

“This is a fantastic development that we have been working on for a long time,” said Russell Kent, CCA Georgia Government Relations Advisory chairman. “The exempted fishing permit process is the first step off the roller coaster of non-sensical angling regulations. We applaud the work done by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to prepare for this moment and we look forward to working with the state to enhance public access to this fishery.”

Each state submitted plans for season lengths and methods of gathering recreational harvest data that will be used to stay within red snapper quotas. Georgia’s exempted fishing permit (EFP) outlines plans for a 61- or 62-day season that would allow a harvest of one red snapper per person with no length limit. The state’s data collection program includes mandatory reporting requirements to ensure accurate and timely data on harvest as well as discards.

“We recognize that taking on this important new role is not easy or cheap, and so we have been working for the past 18 months to ensure that the Georgia Department of Natural Resources will have the resources to take the lead role in managing the recreational sector,” said CCA Georgia Chairman Robert Hale. “We are prepared to be partners with our state agency in every possible way to ensure that this project succeeds.”

Earlier this year, CCA Georgia worked in support of HB 443 which proposed a new annual “Reef/Migratory Fish Endorsement” for Georgia recreational fishing licenses, costing $10 for residents and $20 for non-residents. The revenue generated by this endorsement, estimated at $500,000 annually, would have funded a state-based data collection system on an ongoing basis. Although that bill failed to advance on the last day of the legislature, one-time funding was included in the CY26 state budget which will allow the Coastal Resources Division to move forward with a state-based data collection system until sustaining legislation can be approved. Additionally, Yamaha Marine is providing significant financial support for modification of a reporting app that will be used by Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Florida already has its State Reef Fish Survey in place to collect data. 

“As we have seen in the Gulf, this seismic shift in the management of our offshore fisheries has huge potential, and it is an opportunity to finally get it right,” said CCA Georgia Executive Director Hillari Jones. “We fought very hard to get here, and we are going to do everything we can to make sure that the state has what it needs to do the job of managing recreational fisheries better than the federal government has ever done. This is an exciting moment for anglers in our region.”

Washington, D.C. – September 16, 2025 – After a year-long, intensive information gathering process, the directors of the state marine fisheries agencies from Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina have released the outline of a plan for state-based recreational data gathering and management of South Atlantic red snapper.

In a joint letter and Action Plan signed by all four state agency representatives to the House South Atlantic Red Snapper Task Force, the states acknowledge that inadequate data combined with a “one-sized fits all management approach” hinders access to the resource for many anglers under the current federal management regime. In response, the states propose standing up state data collection programs and improving management of the recreational red snapper fishery to provide greater responsiveness, flexibility and access.

The announcement of this coordinated effort was greeted with strong enthusiasm from the recreational fishing and boating community, which has long called for greater state control of South Atlantic red snapper similar to state programs that have been in place since the first Trump Administration in the Gulf which have transformed the recreational fishery there.

“State management of South Atlantic red snapper is the right idea at the right time,” said Jeff Angers, president of the Center for Sportfishing Policy. “We’ve seen in the Gulf of America that when states lead with sound science and local common sense, everyone wins – anglers get more days on the water; conservation outcomes improve, and coastal economies thrive. The leadership shown by Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina offers real hope that the broken federal system will finally give way to a management model that reflects the reality on the water.”

South Atlantic red snapper is presently managed by NOAA Fisheries through the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The fishery has come under intense scrutiny in recent years as recreational fishing seasons have been limited to one or two days – and often closed entirely – despite the population being larger than any time in recorded history. Draconian federal restrictions arise from high levels of uncertainty in recreational catch data collected by the federal government.

In just the last few months, the governors of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina voiced their support for a shift to state-led management of red snapper in the South Atlantic in a joint letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. That was quickly followed by formal letters from congressional delegations from each of the three states reinforcing the call for reform.

Most recently, U.S. Reps. John Rutherford (Fla.), Buddy Carter (Ga.), Russell Fry (S.C.) and David Rouzer (N.C.) launched the House South Atlantic Red Snapper Task Force—a bipartisan effort to improve data collection, expand state authority and secure longer, more predictable seasons.

“This is an incredibly important step in the future of recreational red snapper management in the South Atlantic,” said Ted Venker, vice president of conservation for Coastal Conservation Association. “We are grateful to the South Atlantic states for taking on this added responsibility and for their commitment to bring rational, reliable data and management to this fishery. As we have seen in the Gulf under this approach, we are confident that management outcomes will begin to align with the health of the resource and enhance anglers’ access to it.”

The process in the South Atlantic is expected to follow roughly the same path as state management in the Gulf with each state implementing and testing data collection programs through Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs). While the EFPs are underway, the South Atlantic Council will begin an amendment to formalize state management of Atlantic red snapper through the Council process.

“Since going from red snapper seasons measured in days to seasons measured in months in the Gulf, we have been hopeful that the South Atlantic states would embrace a similar path and develop their own, more reliable recreational data collection programs,” said Chris Horton, senior director of fisheries policy for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. “We are very thankful to see that the South Atlantic states are taking the reins on behalf of both their anglers and better science, which will ensure future fisheries sustainability while providing appropriate access for the recreational community.”

“The American Sportfishing Association applauds the South Atlantic states for developing this roadmap to better data and management for red snapper,” said Martha Guyas, Southeast Fisheries Policy Director of the American Sportfishing Association. “On behalf of the recreational fishing industry, we look forward to working with the states on meaningful improvements to this culturally and economically important fishery that are tailored to the needs of the resource and anglers.”