While news sites remain cluttered with headlines about international unrest and Capitol Hill bickering, the biggest issue for millions of Americans is their ability to feel safe and enjoy doing what they love.

And despite all the other distractions thus far in his second term, President Donald Trump continues to signal his commitment to giving Americans the ability to control their lives.

That includes fast-tracking new permits across four southern states (Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas) to allow anglers to catch Red Snapper for a longer period of the year.

Here’s what the Daily Caller reported:

“For years, our Great Fishermen have been punished with VERY short Federal fishing seasons despite RECORD HIGH fish populations and the States begging to oversee these permits. The incompetent Biden Administration tried to SHUT DOWN THE OCEANS to our Fishermen, entirely. We love and respect our Fishermen and, unlike the Democrats, will only do good for them. To all those who fish ‘Red Snapper’ — TRUMP and NOAA are delivering for you. ENJOY!!” Trump said.

The National Marine Fisheries Service, an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), announced in February a proposal for Exempted Fishing Permit requests for Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

The proposals are designed to lengthen the recreational season, boost regional access to Red Snapper and give states more power to improve the accuracy of data collection systems that track the Red Snapper population, according to the American Sportfishing Association (ASA).

ASA noted that despite the Red Snapper population being the “healthiest” in recent history the federal government was still only rewarding fishermen a few weekends a year for recreational fishing. Under the Biden administration in 2024, the Red Snapper recreational season opened on July 12 and closed July 13 at 12:01 a.m. Similarly, the season ran from July 8 to July 9 in 2022, and July 14 to July 14 in 2023.

Judging from the response to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ post sharing the news, many recreational fishermen in the Sunshine State are welcoming the additional capacity:

WCIV reported on the impact to South Carolina’s coast:

The decision drew public praise from former President Donald Trump, who framed the approval as a major shift from past federal management. “WE JUST DELIVERED A HUGE WIN for our Great Fishermen and Anglers in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina!” Trump said, adding that fishermen had faced “VERY short Federal fishing seasons despite record high fish populations.”

State officials described the pilot as a long-term investment rather than a short-term expansion. SCDNR said the goal is to improve data and test new management tools that could support a more sustainable and accessible red snapper fishery.

Here’s some additional coverage of the development:

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.