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South Atlantic Red Snapper Fair Access Act of 2026
To prohibit certain commercial activities with respect to certain South Atlantic red snapper during certain periods, and for other purposes.
Summary
- Prohibits commercial harvest of South Atlantic red snapper from Federal waters during periods when recreational harvest is prohibited.
- Prohibits the sale, purchase, trade, barter, or offering for sale of South Atlantic red snapper harvested from Federal waters during periods when recreational harvest is prohibited.
- Treats violations of these prohibitions as violations of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, with enforcement and penalties under that law.
- Requires the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the National Marine Fisheries Service, to enforce the prohibitions and issue implementing regulations.
- Requires the Secretary to issue regulations within 90 days of enactment to carry out the law's provisions.
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)
- Rep. Scott, Austin [R-GA-8] (R-GA)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Austin Scott’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- CME GROUP $5,000
- JDS HOLDINGS LLC $3,300
- OFFICE OF KAT TAYLOR $3,300
- BIG ROCK EQUITIES $3,300
- THE RUSSELL GROUP $3,000
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Austin Scott → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Jul 23, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. · house
- Jul 23, 2026 Introduced in House
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
July 23, 2026
Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
A BILL
To prohibit certain commercial activities with respect to certain South Atlantic red snapper during certain periods, and for other purposes.
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 “South Atlantic Red Snapper Fair Access Act of 2026”.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) South Atlantic red snapper is a healthy public fishery resource that supports recreational anglers, for-hire operators, coastal communities, fishing tackle retailers, marinas, restaurants, lodging providers, and other businesses throughout the South Atlantic region.
(2) In recent years, recreational harvest of South Atlantic red snapper in Federal waters has been limited to extremely short seasons, including one- and two-day seasons, despite historic abundance and strong public demand for access to the fishery.
(3) Conversely, commercial harvest of South Atlantic red snapper in Federal waters has remained open for substantially longer periods, including commercial seasons that have lasted for weeks or months in recent years.
(4) Leading up to the 2026 recreational fishing season, the States of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, working with the National Marine Fisheries Service, developed and received approval for State-led exempted fishing permit pilot programs designed to improve recreational fisheries data collection, test State management strategies, reduce uncertainty, and provide more reasonable recreational access to South Atlantic red snapper.
(5) Those State-led pilot programs were halted by a preliminary injunction issued by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, blocking the approved 2026 pilot seasons for the States of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, including Florida’s season just hours before it was scheduled to begin.
(6) While anglers continue to sit at the dock awaiting a management system that allows reasonable access to a healthy public fishery resource, conservation burdens and access restrictions should be shared fairly across sectors.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN SOUTH ATLANTIC RED SNAPPER DURING CERTAIN PERIODS.
(a) In General.—It is unlawful for any person, for commercial purposes—
(1) to harvest any South Atlantic red snapper from Federal waters during a covered period; or
(2) to sell, purchase, trade, barter, or offer for sale any South Atlantic red snapper harvested from Federal waters during a covered period.
(b) Penalties.—
(1) In general.—An act described in subsection (a) shall be treated as an act described in section 307 of the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1857) for purposes of sections 308 through 311 of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1858-1860).
(2) Enforcement.—The Secretary shall enforce this section as if a violation of subsection (a) were a violation of section 307 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1857).
(c) Implementation.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall issue such regulations as are necessary to carry out this section.
(d) Definitions.—In this Act:
(1) Covered period.—The term “covered period” means a period during which the recreational harvest of South Atlantic red snapper in Federal waters is prohibited.
(2) Secretary.—The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service.
(3) South atlantic red snapper.—The term “South Atlantic red snapper” means red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) subject to management under the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region published by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. <all>
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