19-30-CWS | May 22, 2019
BILOXI, Miss. –Mississippi’s Red Snapper season will open for private recreational anglers and state for-hire vessels on at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, May 24, in state and federal waters.
The season will be open seven days a week and will run through September 2 at 11:59 p.m. with a mid-season closure from July 8– 28. This closure will help ensure the state’s annual quota is not met before Labor Day and will allow MDMR staff to analyze all data from the first segment of the season.
Private recreational anglers can fish out to 200 nautical miles. Vessels with state for-hire permits can fish in state territorial waters, which is nine nautical miles from the barrier islands.
The season will close if the assigned quota for recreational fishermen or state for-hire fishermen is reached at any point after the season opens. It will also close if the Gulf-wide quota is reached.
All anglers are required to register their trips through MDMR’s Tails n’ Scales program, which is available through a smartphone app, a website and a call center. Anglers must have a trip number when they are out on the water and close out that trip before creating a new one.
The data collected in the Tails n’ Scales program allows MDMR fisheries managers to closely monitor the harvest in near real-time while still allowing Mississippi anglers more opportunity and greater flexibility to harvest Red Snapper.
As a reminder, anglers caught fishing for Red Snapper without a trip authorization number will be fined and Marine Patrol officers will confiscate their fish.
The Tails n’ Scales app is available in iTunes and Google Play, and the website is tailsnscales.org. Fishermen can call 228-697-5762 or 228-234-9109 if they need to report any issues with the app.
Anyone using the app must download the latest update before creating a trip this year.
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is dedicated to enhancing, protecting and conserving marine interests of the state by managing all marine life, public trust wetlands, adjacent uplands and waterfront areas to provide for the optimal commercial, recreational, educational and economic uses of these resources consistent with environmental concerns and social changes. Visit the DMR online at dmr.ms.gov.
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