Ron DeSantis pulled off a power move in the Sunshine State.
Anglers couldn't believe their eyes when the Governor delivered the news.
And Ron DeSantis dropped one announcement that gave Florida fishermen an early Christmas present.
Years of federal strangulation end with one announcement
Florida offshore anglers on the Atlantic Coast have suffered under federal tyranny for more than a decade.
Washington bureaucrats at NOAA and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council turned red snapper fishing into a two-day mad rush — sometimes just one day — while claiming they were protecting the fish population.¹
Anyone who fished these waters could see the lie.
Red snapper were everywhere. Anglers watched 20 fish bite their hooks at once while federal "experts" claimed the species needed draconian protection.²
The Biden administration made it worse.
They tried forcing sweeping three-month closures affecting 55 species off Florida's coast — from December through February — which would have devastated coastal businesses during prime tourism season.³
DeSantis announced Monday that Florida submitted a permit to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick requesting state management of Atlantic red snapper starting in 2026.
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1987997557696462863?s=20
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission asked for a 39-day season, an 1,850% increase from the pathetic two-day federal season.⁴
"We know we can do this effectively, and we know this is something that can make a big difference for our recreational anglers, particularly in northeast Florida," DeSantis told reporters at Amelia Island Marina.⁵
Trump administration gives DeSantis the green light
The announcement came after DeSantis confirmed he spoke directly with President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Lutnick.
Both support Florida taking control away from Washington bureaucrats who've never wet a line off Jacksonville.
"I've spoken both with President Trump as well as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and the encouraging thing is they're receptive to this and they support us being able to move ahead with what we're doing," DeSantis said.⁶
Secretary Lutnick already rejected the Biden administration's last-ditch attempt to close 55 species of bottom fishing from Cape Canaveral to the Georgia border.
That decision saved Florida's $31.3 billion recreational boating industry from a winter knockout punch.⁷
DeSantis pointed to Florida's track record managing Gulf red snapper.
When the state took over from federal control, the season exploded from three days to 127 days this year.
That's a 4,133% increase while maintaining healthy fish populations.⁸
"State management and expansion of Gulf snapper season have been a major boon for our Gulf of America communities," DeSantis stated. "Florida anglers can enjoy more Atlantic Red Snapper fishing as well."⁹
Florida's proposal splits the season into summer and fall. Anglers get Memorial Day weekend through June 20, then three weekends in October covering the 2nd-4th, 9th-11th, and 16th-18th.¹⁰
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1987918228513816978?s=20
Federal data was garbage from day one
NOAA based its restrictions on recreational discard estimates that everyone knew were worthless.
These bureaucrats claimed 98% of red snapper "discard mortality" from 2021-2023 came from recreational anglers releasing fish.¹¹
Charter captains watched this data collection in real-time.
Federal surveyors relied on phone interviews and statistical models instead of actual boots on the docks counting fish.
Meanwhile, Florida developed the State Reef Fish Survey using hard data from registered anglers.¹²
"There are way more fish than what the federal government tells you there are," DeSantis said. "People see it when they are out there doing it, and I heard that from everybody."¹³
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1987883084256006448?s=20
Roger Young, Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Executive Director, explained the state already proved it could handle the job. "Florida has proven it can effectively and efficiently manage the Atlantic recreational red snapper fishery," Young stated.¹⁴
The economic impact hits real people running tackle shops, charter operations, and coastal restaurants.
Florida has more than 4 million licensed anglers and 922,000 registered boats — both topping the nation.
The recreational boating industry supports over 100,000 jobs statewide.¹⁵
Captain Dennis Young, who operates Sea Dancer Charters in Jacksonville, watched red snapper populations explode over two decades.
"When you can go out and anchor down on the boat and have 20 red snapper come up and bite your hooks at the boat, something's going on," Young said at DeSantis' announcement.¹⁶
Washington's decade of failure meets its end
Biden's NOAA implemented "interim measures" in 2024 that reduced the Atlantic red snapper season to one day — July 12.
The commercial season closed after anglers caught just 85,268 pounds, a fraction of the 124,815-pound limit before Biden's bureaucrats tightened the screws.¹⁷
Three lawsuits hit the Secretary of Commerce over continued overfishing.
A federal district court approved a settlement in August 2024 requiring NOAA to submit a final rule ending red snapper overfishing by June 6, 2025.¹⁸
But here's the kicker: NOAA's own updated stock assessment released in December 2024 confirmed what anglers knew all along.
Red snapper are no longer overfished.
The stock rebuilt successfully despite federal management strangling the fishery.¹⁹
Congressional delegations from Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina teamed up backing state management.
U.S. Senator Rick Scott and Representative John Rutherford led bipartisan letters urging Secretary Lutnick to approve Florida's request.²⁰
"Florida has demonstrated its ability to use sound science to successfully manage red snapper in the Gulf," their letter stated. "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."²¹
President Trump's April 2025 executive order on "Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness" directed Commerce and NOAA to expand exempted fishing permits and modernize data collection.
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1987896746253639965?s=20
The order gave states the green light to take back control from Washington.²²
DeSantis used the same exempted fishing permit process Florida leveraged to take over Gulf management.
The state proved it could balance conservation with economic opportunity, protecting fish populations while giving anglers reasonable access to abundant resources.
Approval from Secretary Lutnick would unleash the Atlantic Coast fishing economy Florida's Gulf Coast already enjoys.
Tackle shops, marinas, hotels, and restaurants in northeast Florida communities would see immediate benefits from anglers planning actual fishing trips instead of gambling on hitting the water during a 48-hour window.
The Trump administration recognizes what the Biden bureaucrats refused to admit: states closest to the resource manage it best.
Florida's success in the Gulf proves federal overreach destroyed economic opportunity without protecting a single fish.
¹ NOAA Fisheries, "Interim Rule and 2024 South Atlantic Red Snapper Season," NOAA.gov, June 14, 2024.
² Governor Ron DeSantis, remarks at Amelia Island Marina, Jacksonville Today, November 10, 2025.
³ American Sportfishing Association, "NOAA Proposes Fishing Closure for 55 Species Off Florida Coast," ASAfishing.org, January 14, 2025.
⁴ Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Management Proposal for Atlantic Red Snapper Season," MyFWC.com, November 10, 2025.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ron DeSantis, quoted in "Florida seeks to extend red snapper fishing season to 39 days starting next year," WCJB, November 10, 2025.
⁷ Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Management Proposal for Atlantic Red Snapper Season," MyFWC.com, November 10, 2025.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ U.S. Congress, "US lawmakers move to block NOAA Fisheries from closing red snapper fishery," SeafoodSource.com, February 2025.
¹² Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Record 126-Day Gulf Red Snapper Recreational Season for 2025," MyFWC.com, April 2025.
¹³ Ron DeSantis, quoted in "Florida to take control of Atlantic red snapper fishery, promises longer fishing season," CBS12, November 10, 2025.
¹⁴ Roger Young, quoted in "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Management Proposal for Atlantic Red Snapper Season," Space Coast Daily, November 10, 2025.
¹⁵ Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Management Proposal for Atlantic Red Snapper Season," MyFWC.com, November 10, 2025.
¹⁶ Captain Dennis Young, quoted in "DeSantis announces proposal for 39-day Atlantic red snapper season," MySunCoast, November 10, 2025.
¹⁷ NOAA Fisheries, "Commercial Closure for Red Snapper in South Atlantic Federal Waters on August 6, 2024," NOAA.gov, August 6, 2024.
¹⁸ Federal Register, "Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic; Amendment 59," FederalRegister.gov, June 11, 2025.
¹⁹ Ibid.
²⁰ U.S. Senator Rick Scott, "Sen. Rick Scott, Bipartisan Florida Delegation Ask Commerce Secretary Lutnick to Support Florida's Fishing Industry," RickScott.senate.gov, July 3, 2025.
²¹ Ibid.
²² President Donald J. Trump, "Executive Order on Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness," WhiteHouse.gov, April 2025.
