The red snapper season kicks off June 1st in federal waters for 97 days this year. What will be an exciting time fishing for anglers, will also be a chance to win some big cash.
This is the first time the Harte Research Institute has tagged red snapper, which has taken them the past few months to tag hundreds of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico.
Judd Curtis, scientist with the Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation through HRI says, “the main purpose of tagging these fish is to come up with an independent estimate of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. And ultimately the number that we obtain will be used to help calibrate stock assessment models for fishery manageries in the Gulf.”
Each tag will be prized at $250, some red snapper have two tags.
Curtis explains that if someone catches a red snapper with the tags, they are encouraged to call the number on the tag and give longitude and latitude coordinates of where you found the fish. There will also be a phone survey that will help HRI obtain data about the fish caught. Once HRI has the information in hand, it will take up to two weeks to send a check to the right angler.
To find more information on the red snapper tagging and winning some money, you can find that here.
