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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 restricts the Secretary of Commerce from issuing rules or amendments that would close fishing areas in the South Atlantic for red snapper and other snapper-grouper species until the South Atlantic Great Red Snapper Count study is completed and its data is incorporated into the next official stock assessment. The bill reflects congressional findings that the red snapper stock has recovered to record levels since rebuilding efforts began in 2010, and notes that $8.7 million has been invested in independent survey data over the prior three years to better inform management decisions. The bill essentially prevents area closures in the snapper-grouper fishery from being implemented before this independent survey data is integrated into the federal assessment.
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)
- Sen. Scott, Rick [R-FL] (R-FL)
Actions (2)
- Jan 16, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. · senate
- Jan 16, 2025 Introduced in Senate
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.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 16, 2025
Mr. Scott of Florida introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
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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