# 2026-16192: States Want Fishing Passes to Experiment with Red Snapper Catches 2026-16192, Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic; Requests for Exempted Fishing Permits, is a Federal Register notice from Commerce Department, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published 2026-08-10, effective Written comments must be received no later than August 25, 2026.; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16192 - As of: 2026-08-17 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Document number: 2026-16192 - Title: Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic; Requests for Exempted Fishing Permits - Type: Notice - Agencies: Commerce Department; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Citation: 91 FR 51467 - Published: 2026-08-10 - Effective: Written comments must be received no later than August 25, 2026. - Comments close: 2026-08-25 - Significant: no - Touches household money: yes - Regulation identifier numbers: none - Last updated: 2026-08-17 ## In one line States Want Fishing Passes to Experiment with Red Snapper Catches ## Summary NMFS announces the receipt of three applications for exempted fishing permits (EFP) from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GADNR), and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR). If issued by NMFS, each EFP would exempt the applicable state agency and participating fishermen from specific Federal regulations applicable to the recreational harvest of red snapper in the South Atlantic. The applicants each propose to pilot test state data collection and management strategies for the recreational harvest of red snapper in 2026. The outcomes of the 2026 EFPs would inform the need and refinement of future EFP applications. The purposes of these EFPs are to improve data on recreational fishing effort, catch, and discards of red snapper in the South Atlantic and to inform the development of a long-term state-led management strategy for the recreational harvest of red snapper. ## Effects PRIA read - Short October season; possible December reopenings: benefit, medium. If an EFP is issued, participating anglers could fish for red snapper daily in October 2026 and may get additional open days in December 2026, while harvest would be closed in November 2026. Each state applicant requested a specific harvest limit for 2026: Florida 185,379 fish, Georgia 10,759 fish,… - Mandatory trip declarations and electronic reporting: cost, low. To participate under an EFP, anglers must submit a mandatory trip declaration before each trip and an electronic trip report after the trip (typically within 24 hours). States propose using systems like VESL (Georgia and South Carolina), SRFS and a voluntary phone app (Florida), and authorization c… - Permit, license, and eligibility requirements: cost, medium. To fish under an EFP, private anglers and for-hire operators must hold required state licenses and any applicable Federal permits and must begin and end trips in the state where they are licensed. South Carolina would additionally require participating for-hire fishermen to have possessed a valid F… - One-fish bag limit and crew retention ban: cost, low. All applicants propose a recreational bag limit of one red snapper per person per day for EFP participants, and each applicant proposes that the captain and crew of for-hire vessels may not retain red snapper. These limits would apply during the proposed October/possible December 2026 EFP seasons. - State-specific limits: Florida aggregate and SC size rule: mixed, low. Florida proposes managing red snapper as part of a 10-fish aggregate bag limit across multiple snapper-grouper species to test discard reduction, while South Carolina proposes a 20-inch (≈51 cm) minimum size limit for red snapper in Federal waters. 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