Georgia officials call on anglers to donate red snapper carcasses
The Coastal Resources Division (CRD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (Georgia DNR) is asking anglers who fillet their red snappers to donate the bodies of the fish.
The call comes as officials attempt to conserve the fishery for future generations.
The red snapper (lutjanus campechanus) is an economically valuable and ecologically important reef fish, according to the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium.
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Freezers located along Georgia’s coast at marinas and bait shops will store the carcasses.
The carcasses will be examined by CRD biologists to gather data on age, size and growth, then shared with regional and federal partners and used in fishery management, according to a press release.
Biologists will also gather small pieces of fin tissue from harvested fish for a large-scale genetics study in an effort to find the total number of red snappers in the Atlantic population.
The donation freezer stations are not limited to red snapper, and anglers are invited to donate carcasses of other species as well.
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"The more data we have, the better our estimates are. We have a wide variety of surveys and programs to gather data, and the input from recreational anglers is a vital part of our data-gathering process," Carolyn Belcher, CRD’s chief of marine fisheries said in a statement, according to the Georgia DNR's release.
Red snappers grow at a moderate rate, reaching near 40 inches long and weighing 50 pounds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
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The fish have longevity with a red snapper as old as 57 years being reported.
The request for the fish carcasses comes with an incentive for anglers.
After donating a carcass at a freezer station, donors will be entered into a raffle to win a $50 gift card to Academy Sports sporting goods store.
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In order to qualify, anglers or boat groups must complete a registration card and attach it to the plastic bag holding the carcasses.
Recreational anglers will be allowed to harvest red snapper in federal waters of the South Atlantic on Friday, July 12.
Each recreational angler will be allowed to fish one red snapper per day with no size restriction.