NOAA Fisheries announced the approval of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) revised Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) corrected link, allowing FWC to test management of the recreational Atlantic red snapper fishery in both state and federal waters beginning October 2026.
Florida’s 2026 Atlantic recreational red snapper season will be a 14-day fall season that will run continuously from October 9 through October 22. This season will be open to all private recreational anglers and for-hire operations fishing in Florida’s Atlantic state and federal waters.
To participate in the season, private anglers and for-hire captains must ensure they have all the appropriate licenses and permits, and must comply with the following:
-
Declare all red snapper trips during the season through the FWC Atlantic Red Snapper Reporting app
-
Have a copy of your trip declaration (obtain through the app) AND Florida’s EFP (downloaded from FWC website) on your vessel
-
Follow the one red snapper per person bag limit with no minimum size limit (no retention for for-hire captain and crew)
-
Use hook and line gear with single hook only (spearfishing also allowed)
-
Follow the 10-fish snapper grouper aggregate bag limit
