GULF COUNCIL CLEARS WAY FOR EXTENSION OF RED SNAPPER SEASON
Emergency rule gives option for longer season quota not taken due to oil spill

GULFPORT, MS - In response to a request from Coastal Conservation Association, the Gulf
of Mexico Fishery Management Council has approved an emergency rule that paves the way for
the recreational red snapper season to remain open past July 24 if the quota is not taken due to
the oil spill. Dr. Russell Nelson, CCA’s Gulf Fisheries Director, made the request for the impact
of the oil spill to be taken into account during the Council’s meeting this week in Gulfport,
Mississippi.

“We appreciate the Council taking a pragmatic approach to this unprecedented situation in
the Gulf of Mexico,” said Nelson. “If the quota is not taken, a longer season will hopefully allow
more people who have been sidelined by the oil spill to take advantage of this recovering stock.”

The recreational red snapper season is set to run from June 1 to July 24 and is the shortest
season on record at 53 days. With as much as 35 percent of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico
closed to all fishing as a result of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, it is likely that the season will
end before many anglers from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are cleared to fish
offshore. With passage of the emergency rule, on a motion made by Florida state member Bill
Teehan, the Gulf Council has given NOAA Regional Administrator Roy Crabtree the authority
to leave the season open if recreational quota remains available.

“This is an example of how the Council and the recreational community can work together to
find common-sense solutions to complex problems,” said Chester Brewer, chairman of CCA’s
National Government Relations Committee. “We are going to face many challenges in the Gulf
of Mexico and it will be necessary for everyone to find a way through the tough times. It is good
that the Council has acknowledged the impact the oil spill has had on recreational anglers and the
coastal communities that depend on them.”