Key West Red Snapper
The Basics
Red snapper is a prized recreational and commercial fish found in the Atlantic Coast of North and Central America, in northern South America, and the Gulf of Mexico. Red snapper are not commonly found north of the Carolinas.
The body of the red snapper is a pinkish red color with a white underside. Red snapper have red eyes, a long pointed snout, a sharply pointed anal fin and short, sharp needle-like teeth.
Red snapper are bottom dwellers and are commonly found in bottom relief around rocks, ledges, wrecks, coral reefs and artificial reefs at depths of 33-620 feet. Juvenile red snapper are found in shallower water near sandy and muddy bottoms. On average, red snapper are between 1 to 2 feet in length and weigh less than 10 pounds. Red snapper can reach up to 40 inches in length, 50 pounds in weight and adults can live more than 20 years.
How red snapper feed & what is unique about the red snapper
Red snapper are carnivorous and primarily eat small fish and crustaceans. The eating pattern of red snapper changes as the fish matures. Juvenile red snapper primarily eat plankton, while adult red snapper feed primarily on shrimp, squid and octopus. A factor behind the changing diet of the red snapper is the change in habitat as red snapper grow from sandy bottoms to reefs.
Red snapper reach sexual maturity at age 2, have a reproductive season from June to October, and can spawn multiple times during the reproductive period. The peak spawning years of red snapper begin after the fish reach 10 years of age.
How we get them?
The red snapper is a popular commercial and game fish. As a result of their popularity, red snapper have been overfished and their population has declined. An important factor that has contributed to overfishing of the red snapper is shrimp trawl bycatch mortality. Juvenile red snapper are often caught in these shrimp trawls and are a cause of red snapper death. Discard mortality is another factor that has impacted the population of red snapper.
In order to counteract the effects of overfishing, regulations have been imposed to rebuild the fishery of red snapper. Regulations for red snapper in federal and state waters were put in place before the 2008 fishing season. Regulations include reducing recreational red snapper bag limits, reducing the recreational fishing season, reducing the commercial size limit, requiring the use of tools to reduce red snapper bycatch and discard mortality and the establishment of a fishing quota system.
While the recreational fishing season continues to be relatively brief, there have been changes in recent year to increase the total allowable catch of red snapper. In 2013, the quota for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico was set at 11 million pounds. By comparison, the quota for red snapper was initially set at 5 million pounds following the establishment of regulations in 2008.
Recreational regulations for state waters of the Atlantic allow for fishing year-round with a bag limit of 2 fish per person per day. In federal waters of the Atlantic, the recreational season in 2013 was from August 23 to 25 with a bag limit of 1 fish per person per day.
For recreational fishing in state waters in the Gulf of Mexico, an initial 44-day season was approved from June 1 until July 15, with a supplemental period added from October 1 until October 21. For federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, an initial 28-day season was set from June 1 until June 29. This initial period was supplemented with an additional season from October 1 until October 15. Recreational regulations in the Gulf of Mexico allow 2 fish per harvester per day.
In Key West fishing, red snapper are often found in depths greater than 240 feet. In cooler months, red snapper are commonly found in shallow offshore waters.