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To provide that the Secretary of Commerce shall not issue an interim or final rule or Secretarial Amendment that includes an area or bottom closure in the South Atlantic for species managed under the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region until the South Atlantic Great Red Snapper Count study is complete and the data related to that study is integrated into the stock assessment.
Summary
This bill prohibits the Secretary of Commerce from issuing rules or amendments that would impose area or bottom closures for the snapper-grouper fishery in the South Atlantic until two conditions are met: the South Atlantic Great Red Snapper Count study is completed and its data is incorporated into the next official red snapper stock assessment. The bill identifies the South Atlantic red snapper as currently experiencing record high abundance following years of rebuilding efforts, but notes increased out-of-season encounters and discards have driven higher red snapper mortality. The bill references $8.7 million in independent survey investments, including $3.3 million for the Red Snapper Count study, to provide fishery managers with current data to inform management decisions.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
26 cosponsors
- Rep. Bean, Aaron [R-FL-4] (R-FL)
- Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12] (R-FL)
- Rep. Buchanan, Vern [R-FL-16] (R-FL)
- Rep. Carter, Earl L. "Buddy" [R-GA-1] (R-GA)
- Rep. Diaz-Balart, Mario [R-FL-26] (R-FL)
- Rep. Donalds, Byron [R-FL-19] (R-FL)
- Rep. Dunn, Neal P. [R-FL-2] (R-FL)
- Rep. Ezell, Mike [R-MS-4] (R-MS)
- Rep. Fine, Randy [R-FL-6] (R-FL)
- Rep. Franklin, Scott [R-FL-18] (R-FL)
- Rep. Fry, Russell [R-SC-7] (R-SC)
- Rep. Gimenez, Carlos A. [R-FL-28] (R-FL)
- Rep. Haridopolos, Mike [R-FL-8] (R-FL)
- Rep. Lee, Laurel M. [R-FL-15] (R-FL)
- Rep. Luna, Anna Paulina [R-FL-13] (R-FL)
- Rep. Mace, Nancy [R-SC-1] (R-SC)
- Rep. Mast, Brian J. [R-FL-21] (R-FL)
- Rep. McDowell, Addison [R-NC-6] (R-NC)
- Rep. Mills, Cory [R-FL-7] (R-FL)
- Rep. Moskowitz, Jared [D-FL-23] (D-FL)
- Rep. Rouzer, David [R-NC-7] (R-NC)
- Rep. Salazar, Maria Elvira [R-FL-27] (R-FL)
- Rep. Scott, Austin [R-GA-8] (R-GA)
- Rep. Soto, Darren [D-FL-9] (D-FL)
- Rep. Steube, W. Gregory [R-FL-17] (R-FL)
- Rep. Webster, Daniel [R-FL-11] (R-FL)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to John H. Rutherford’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH CORPORATION $7,250
- ATS COMMUNICATIONS, INC $7,100
- GC LAND DEVELOPEMENT INC $6,600
- PUTZKE HORSE FARM LLC $6,600
- MOMENTUM TRANSPORTATION USA INC $6,600
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for John H. Rutherford → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Jan 16, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. · house
- Jan 16, 2025 Introduced in House
More bills on these subjects (8)
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Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 16, 2025
Mr. Rutherford (for himself, Mr. Soto, Mr. Bean of Florida, Mr. Carter of Georgia, Ms. Mace, Mr. Webster of Florida, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Donalds, Mr. Scott Franklin of Florida, Ms. Salazar, Mr. Dunn of Florida, Ms. Lee of Florida, Mr. Mast, Mr. Gimenez, Mr. Fry, Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia, and Mrs. Luna) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
A BILL
To provide that the Secretary of Commerce shall not issue an interim or final rule or Secretarial Amendment that includes an area or bottom closure in the South Atlantic for species managed under the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region until the South Atlantic Great Red Snapper Count study is complete and the data related to that study is integrated into the stock assessment.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Red Snapper Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. CONDITIONS FOR RULES AND SECRETARIAL AMENDMENTS RELATED TO CERTAIN AREA CLOSURES.
(a) Findings.—Congress finds the following:
(1) Fishing is a major economic driver in the South Atlantic. In Florida alone, recreational anglers provide $14,000,000,000 in economic output and support 119,000 jobs.
(2) Red snapper is a highly prized and sought after reef fish by both recreational and commercial fishermen.
(3) The 6-day recreational red snapper season in 2018 added $13,000,000 to the gross domestic product of the South Atlantic region.
(4) Since 2010, fishery managers have successfully been working to rebuild the red snapper stock in the South Atlantic. There is currently record high abundance and strong recruitment within the stock.
(5) This record abundance has led to increased out-of- season encounters and discards which is driving red snapper mortality.
(6) Despite these increased discards, it is the overriding opinion of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Snapper Grouper Advisory Panel that based on members’ collective on-the-water experience, the red snapper fishery is recovered.
(7) However, options for future consideration to reduce out-of-season encounters and red snapper mortalities include shorter seasons and broad area closures for the snapper-grouper fishery in the South Atlantic.
(8) The State of Florida is concerned with the economic implications of area closures for the South Atlantic snapper- grouper recreational fishery.
(9) $8,700,000 has been invested in independent survey data over the last 3 fiscal years, including $3,300,000 for the South Atlantic Great Red Snapper Count to estimate the number of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) in the South Atlantic waters from North Carolina to Florida.
(10) The National Marine Fisheries Service should incorporate data from this survey into the National Marine Fisheries Service stock assessments as expeditiously as possible to better inform fishery management decisions.
(b) Condition on Issuance of Certain Rule or Secretarial Amendment.—The Secretary of Commerce shall not issue an interim or final rule or a Secretarial Amendment that includes an area or bottom closure in the South Atlantic for species managed under the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region until—
(1) the South Atlantic Great Red Snapper Count study is complete; and
(2) the data related to that study is integrated into the first South Atlantic red snapper Southeast Data, Assessment and Review stock assessment that is carried out after the date of the enactment of this section. <all>
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