If you enjoyed the 82-day federal-water and 365-day state-water red snapper season in 2018, then you are going to love this. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Coastal Fisheries Division wants to know what days/seasons you would like to fish for red snapper in 2019.
Under an agreement between TPWD and the National Marine Fisheries Service that was signed in April 2018, TPWD can establish the opening and closing of the red snapper fishery in federal waters off the Texas coast for private recreational anglers fishing from their own vessels in 2019. The federally permitted for-hire sector, which allows recreational anglers to fish from charter boats or headboats, will remain in its current management structure set by the federal government under the agreement for 2019.
TPWD is holding three meetings on the coast to seek your input on possible dates for 2019 private recreational red snapper season in federal waters. There will be multiple options presented for the 2019 federal red snapper season that combine fishing days in the spring and summer. Options include a traditional continuous summer season, seasons with different summer start dates and seasons that split fishing days between the spring and summer. TPWD Coastal Fisheries staff will also present via a Facebook live webinar on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Facebook page on Friday, Dec. 14 at noon for those who cannot attend a meeting in person.
The public will be able to make official comments online through the TPWD website comment portal from Dec. 11, 2018 to Jan. 4, 2019.
Public Meetings
Tuesday, December 11, 2018 6:30 p.m. Doyle Convention Center, 2010 5th Avenue North, Texas City, TX 77590
Wednesday, December 12, 2018 6:30 p.m. Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, Natural Resources Building, Room 1003, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412
Thursday, December 13, 2018 6:30 p.m. Port Isabel Event and Cultural Center, 309 E Railroad Avenue, Port Isabel, TX 78578
Below are some suggested talking points that you can use for online comment or public testimony at a meeting. Please take advantage of this unique opportunity and thank you for your continued efforts to conserve our marine resources for benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations.
Suggested Comments
• State management of red snapper has been a tremendous success so far, and a great improvement over previous federal management that had recently produced seasons as short as three days. Thank you to TPWD for their work on behalf of Texas’s anglers to develop better data collection systems and longer, more consistent seasons for anglers.
• For the 2019 red snapper season, I would like to be able to fish during (list/state your preferred time of year).
• As recreational anglers, we have long asked for a system that allows all stakeholders the best opportunity to access this abundant resource. Thank you for allowing us to have input in this process and help to shape a promising red snapper season for 2019.
