WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator
Ashley Moody, Senator Rick Scott, Representative John Rutherford and bipartisan
members of Florida’s Congressional delegation sent a letter to U.S. Commerce
Secretary Howard Lutnick to thank him for his work with President Trump to
represent Americans’ best interests and ask that the administration grant
Florida and other states authority for Red Snapper management. In their letter,
the members note that state management will help improve accuracy of data
collection and benefit Florida’s fishing
industry and coastal economy while protecting conservation efforts.
Senator Moody,
Senator Scott and Representative Rutherford were also joined by Representatives
Aaron Bean, Gus Bilirakis, Vern Buchanan, Kat Cammack, Mario Díaz-Balart, Byron
Donalds, Neal Dunn, Randy Fine, Scott Franklin, Carlos Giménez, Laurel Lee, Anna
Paulina Luna, Brian Mast, Cory Mills, Jared Moskowitz, Jimmy Patronis, María
Elvira Salazar, Greg Steube, and Daniel Webster.
Read the full letter HERE or below:
Dear
Secretary Lutnick,
We, the undersigned members of Florida’s congressional
delegation, write to share our support for the request of Governors DeSantis,
Kemp, and McMaster to implement state management of red snapper and other reef
fish in the South Atlantic. For too long, Florida anglers in the South
Atlantic have been largely shut out of red snapper harvest opportunities
despite unprecedented growth and record abundance in this fishery.
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service recently
determined that red snapper is no longer overfished and approved a final rule
to end overfishing. We thank you for rejecting the bottom closures that
were in the Biden Administration’s proposed rule. Closing bottom fishing
from December to February for 55 species off the east coast of Florida would
have been devastating to our state’s economy. The drastic nature of the
proposal highlights the need for significant changes to South Atlantic red
snapper management to ensure reasonable harvest opportunities in this fishery,
and we look forward to working with President Trump and his administration to
achieve that goal.
Florida has demonstrated its ability to use sound science
to successfully manage red snapper in the Gulf. This success was made possible
by President Trump during his first administration when he gave the five Gulf
states a leading role in managing the red snapper fishery. Since then, the
health of Florida’s Gulf red snapper population has continued to improve,
growing the season from 3 to 126 days. We believe the current abundance of
South Atlantic red snapper, combined with strong interest from states in the
region to take on a greater role in data collection and management, presents an
extraordinary opportunity to make state-led management in the South Atlantic a
resounding success, much like the model seen in the Gulf.
While the federal government has struggled to collect
reliable data and timely estimates of recreational red snapper harvests,
Florida and the South Atlantic states have the capability of collecting
accurate data which will provide more quality fishing opportunities while
promoting conservation. We urge the Department of Commerce to work swiftly
with Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina to grant the states the authority to
manage red snapper and other reef fish in the South Atlantic. We look forward
to advancing state management for the benefit of fishermen, conservation, and
our coastal economy.
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