President Trump announced a “HUGE WIN” for fishermen in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina in a Truth Social post Friday.
The president said the administration had finished approving all state permits for the 2026 Red Snapper recreational season in the South Atlantic region.
“For years, our Great Fishermen have been punished with VERY short Federal fishing seasons despite RECORD HIGH fish populations and the States begging to oversee these permits. The incompetent Biden Administration tried to SHUT DOWN THE OCEANS to our Fishermen, entirely. We love and respect our Fishermen and, unlike the Democrats, will only do good for them. To all those who fish ‘Red Snapper’ — TRUMP and NOAA are delivering for you. ENJOY!!” Trump said. (RELATED: Fisherman Completely Surrounded By Sharks In Pure ‘Nightmare Fuel’ Video)
The National Marine Fisheries Service, an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), announced in February a proposal for Exempted Fishing Permit requests for Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
The proposals are designed to lengthen the recreational season, boost regional access to Red Snapper and give states more power to improve the accuracy of data collection systems that track the Red Snapper population, according to the American Sportfishing Association (ASA).
ASA noted that despite the Red Snapper population being the “healthiest” in recent history the federal government was still only rewarding fishermen a few weekends a year for recreational fishing. Under the Biden administration in 2024, the Red Snapper recreational season opened on July 12 and closed July 13 at 12:01 a.m. Similarly, the season ran from July 8 to July 9 in 2022, and July 14 to July 14 in 2023.
During Trump’s first year in office in 2025, the season ran from July 11 to July 13. Red Snapper seasons were also limited in Trump’s first term.
GRAND ISLE, LOUISIANA – AUGUST 07: Darrell Boudreaux cleans a red snapper he caught while fishing on August 07, 2025 in Grand Isle, Louisiana. New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region are preparing to mark the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which made its second U.S. landfall on August 29, 2005 near Grand Isle and wreaked widespread damage to Louisiana’s only inhabited barrier island. In 2021, on the 16th anniversary of Katrina, Hurricane Ida delivered catastrophic damage to Grand Isle and nearby Port Fourchon. Katrina resulted in nearly 1,400 deaths, according to revised statistics from the National Hurricane Center, and remains the costliest storm in U.S. history at around $200 billion in today’s dollars. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
However, each state will now offer a significantly longer season. Florida’s proposed season will last 39 days; South Carolina’s will run 62 days; and Georgia and North Carolina’s will fall somewhere in between, according to the ASA.
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that the expanded season will begin May 22.
Atlantic Red Snapper has been approved for state management and an expanded season effective on May 22! https://t.co/KXnvRG4i4f
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) May 1, 2026
Judging from the replies to DeSantis’s announcement, local fishermen are pumped, to say the least.
Lfg pic.twitter.com/hdRi6ciyMi
— Florida doesn’t suck (@JSchasane) May 1, 2026
YES pic.twitter.com/jVPJOFnvBL
— Norwegian Blue 🦜 (@shellscape) May 1, 2026
Rodney Barreto, chairman of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, praised both DeSantis and the Trump administration.
“This is a major milestone and success for Florida’s Atlantic red snapper anglers and the fishery overall,” he said. “FWC has worked relentlessly to make this day a reality for Florida’s anglers, but it would not have been possible without the widespread support from those who care about the health and access to our robust Atlantic red snapper fishery. We thank Governor DeSantis for his continuous and consistent leadership and the Trump Administration for working with the State of Florida to support this state-led effort in providing more fishing opportunities to Floridians.”