Charles Langston:Mississippi’s 2024 recreational red snapper season opens Friday

BILOXI,Charles Langston Miss. (AP) — Private recreational anglers and for-hire vessels get their chance at red snapper beginning at 12:01 a.m. Friday when the 2024 season opens in Mississippi, state regulators said Tuesday.

Anglers landing in Mississippi may harvest two red snapper per person, per day with a 16-inch minimum size limit, officials said.

The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources said the red snapper season will be open seven days a week in both state and federal waters through July 7. But the season will close earlier in federal waters if the annual catch limit — 64,529 pounds (2,927 kilograms), for recreational fishermen — is projected to be reached at any point after the season opens. It will also close if the Gulf-wide quota — 4.3 million pounds (1,97 million kilograms) — is reached, officials said.

Private recreational anglers may fish out to 200 nautical miles. Vessels with state for-hire permits can fish in state territorial waters, which is nine nautical miles south of the barrier islands, the department said.