Louisiana expands red snapper limits for Fourth of July weekend

State officials will temporarily expand the number of red snapper recreational anglers can take home in Louisiana for the Fourth of July holiday. 

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will allow those fishing in state coastal waters for red snapper to take home five fish per person per day, increased from the typical four-fish limit, Thursday through Sunday. 

LDWF Secretary Tyler Bosworth said the temporary increase is meant to encourage people to get outside and enjoy the celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary. 

“Increasing our red snapper limit to five fish is a way we’d like to thank the anglers of our state as they enjoy this special holiday with family and friends,’’ Bosworth said in a statement. 

Size restrictions for red snapper remain in place through the holiday, with any keepers needing to be at least 16 inches in length. 

Louisiana and other states, along with federal management groups such as the Gulf Fisheries Council, place catch restrictions on certain fish species. Red snapper, an extremely popular fish for recreational anglers, was once severely overfished. In the 1990s, its Gulf of Mexico population was down to just 2% of what’s considered a healthy total, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

Strict management, such as limits on the amount and size people can keep, has brought the species back to the point that it isn’t considered overfished in U.S. waters. 

Red snapper season starts in Louisiana waters on May 1 and lasts until fishermen, who must report their catch, reach a total annual weight of fish caught. This year, the limit for Louisiana recreational fishers is 882,000 pounds, down from 894,000 pounds last year. 

As of June 14, Louisiana anglers caught 30% of the yearly limit. 

While red snapper is still a species federally managed, Louisiana was granted power in 2019 to regulate its recreational red snapper fishing in state waters. Every state on the Gulf of Mexico is allocated its own portion of the total weight allowed to be taken by recreational fishers. Louisiana was given 19.2% of that amount.