The Marine Resources Division (MRD) of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) has announced the closure of the 2024 private angler red snapper fishing season in the state’s regulated waters. The season will officially end at midnight on Tuesday, December 31. This closure comes after the state’s private anglers reached Alabama’s federally allocated quota for red snapper. For the 2024 season, the federal allocation for Alabama was set at 659,654 pounds, reflecting the state’s share of this prized Gulf of Mexico species. The MRD emphasizes that the closure is necessary to ensure the sustainability of red snapper populations and compliance with federal regulations.

“The weather played a major role throughout the 2024 red snapper season,” said Scott Bannon, MRD Director. “Several tropical storms and hurricanes created rough water conditions for boaters and anglers this year. Thanks to the benefit of having a state managed season, anglers were able to choose the best time to be on the water and avoid the inclement weather. Our mandatory reporting system, Snapper Check, also continued to allow us to closely monitor the state’s red snapper quota and provide anglers with a long season. We thank our anglers for continuing to report their red snapper, greater amberjack and triggerfish catches through Snapper Check. It’s an important tool that helps provide increased access to these fisheries.”

The 2024 red snapper fishing landings for private anglers and state licensed commercial party boats will be approximately 570,000 pounds. The 2025 quota will be 664,552 pounds and MRD will announce the dates for the 2025 fishing season sometime in the spring.

As a reminder, the additional season days for federally permitted for-hire charter fishing fleet will end at 12:01 a.m. local time on January 1, 2025.

“In spite of the challenges posed by the weather along the coast this year, it was exciting to see anglers reeling in red snapper throughout the late spring, summer, fall and early winter 2024,” said Chris Blankenship, ADCNR Commissioner. “We will continue working to ensure our citizens and visitors have access to the incredible red snapper fishery off the coast of Alabama.”

Red snapper landing information from the 2022–2024 seasons is available at www.outdooralabama.com/2024-red-snapper-landings-summary.