WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott joined Representative John Rutherford and bipartisan members of Florida’s Congressional delegation in a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick thanking 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.

Earlier this year, Senator Scott and Representative Rutherford led the bipartisan, bicameral Red Snapper Act to stop the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from unilaterally closing the Red Snapper fishery in the South Atlantic until a full South Atlantic Great Red Snapper Count study is complete. 

Senator Scott and Representative Rutherford were also joined by Senator Ashley Moody and 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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