Texas Border Business
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD)
The private recreational angler red snapper season in federal waters will open May 22 rather than the typical June 1 opening. This change was made to provide a longer window for saltwater anglers to enjoy coastal fishing and include the Memorial Day holiday.
“As always, our goal is to give Texas anglers as many days as possible to fish in federal waters for red snapper while still maintaining our traditional yearlong fishery in Texas state waters,” said Robin Riechers, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Coastal Fisheries Division Director. “State management in recent years has allowed us to have longer seasons and this year we have included the opening before Memorial Day to give that opportunity over the holiday weekend as well.”
Red snapper fishing is open year-round in Texas state waters, and Gulf states have the unique benefit of managing state bag and size limits of the red snapper fishery.
Bag and size limits for federal and state waters will remain unchanged.
Regulations for red snapper in federal waters consist of:
- Two fish per person per day with a 16-inch minimum size limit.
- Red snapper caught in federal waters count as part of the state bag limit of four fish.
- No more than two red snapper per person can be in possession while in federal waters.
Regulations for red snapper in state waters:
- Four fish per person per day with a 15-inch minimum size limit.
- No more than four red snapper per person can be in possession in state waters while fishing.
