In the Gulf of Mexico, recreational anglers can keep two red snapper per person per day at a minimum of 16 inches total length under the federal baseline. In the South Atlantic, the limit is one red snapper per person per day when a season is open. How many red snapper you can keep, though, depends on more than the bag limit alone: the region you’re fishing, the state whose waters you’re off, whether you’re on a charter or a private boat, and whether the season is even open all change the answer.
Gulf of Mexico Bag and Size Limits
The federal baseline in Gulf waters is two red snapper per person per day, with a minimum size of 16 inches total length.1eCFR. 50 CFR 622.37 – Size Limits Two fish is also your possession limit on a normal single-day trip. You can’t run multiple trips in one day and stack fish on top of each other.
That baseline is only the whole story for federal for-hire trips. Since 2020, the five Gulf states have each been delegated federal authority to set their own red snapper rules for private recreational anglers, and those state-set rules apply in both state and federal waters off that state’s coast.2eCFR. 50 CFR 622.23 – State Management of the Red Snapper Recreational Sector Each state sets its own bag limit and minimum size, though state size limits have to fall between 14 and 18 inches total length. The federal 16-inch, two-fish default only comes back into play if a state fails to set compliant rules or has its delegation suspended. In practice, all five Gulf states have been running their own programs.
What this means for you as a private angler: the state you’re fishing off, not the state you launched from, controls your bag limit, size limit, and season. Check that state’s fish and wildlife agency before the trip.
South Atlantic Bag and Size Limits
South Atlantic red snapper are a separate population under a rebuilding plan, and harvest in federal waters is closed for most of the calendar year. When a season does open, the recreational bag limit is one red snapper per person per day.3NOAA Fisheries. NOAA Fisheries Implementing Interim Measures for Red Snapper and Announcing the 2024 Red Snapper Fishing Seasons
South Atlantic seasons are opened through exempted fishing permits issued to individual states by NOAA. Some states have proposed their own minimum size limits under those permits, in some cases as high as 20 inches, while others have proposed none. Because the size rule isn’t uniform, confirm what the state you’re fishing off has set for the current year.
When You Can Actually Keep Them
Bag limits only matter when a season is open, and red snapper seasons are short and change every year.
In the Gulf, federal for-hire vessels follow a season set by NOAA Fisheries. The 2026 for-hire season runs June 1 through October 25, with the closing date driven by when NOAA projects the for-hire component will hit its annual catch target.4Federal Register. Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of America – 2026 Red Snapper Recreational For-Hire Fishing Season If landings come in under target, NOAA can reopen to harvest the rest. Private anglers in the Gulf don’t have a single federal season anymore; each state sets its own calendar, and some run year-round while others open only for specific weekends or summer windows.
In the South Atlantic, proposed 2026 state seasons range from roughly 39 to 62 days depending on the state, with some concentrating days in summer and others splitting between summer and fall.5Federal Register. Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic – Requests for Exempted Fishing Permits
Federal waters in the Gulf begin 9 nautical miles from shore off Texas and the Gulf coast of Florida and 3 nautical miles off Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. In the South Atlantic, federal waters begin 3 nautical miles from shore along the entire coast. Which side of that line you’re on can matter for what rules apply.
Charter Boat and For-Hire Rules
If you’re booking a charter trip, a few things change. Captains and crew members on federally permitted for-hire vessels have a bag limit of zero for red snapper. They can’t keep any for themselves; only paying passengers get the standard bag limit.6Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. Snapper, Red
When the for-hire season closes in the Gulf, the bag and possession limits go to zero for everyone aboard a federally permitted vessel, whether the fish came from state or federal waters.4Federal Register. Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of America – 2026 Red Snapper Recreational For-Hire Fishing Season A federally permitted charter can’t slip into state waters to keep fishing after the for-hire closure. To fish under a state-managed private angler season, you have to be on a vessel that doesn’t hold a federal for-hire reef fish permit.
Measuring the Fish Correctly
Red snapper are measured by total length: tip of the closed mouth to the farthest point of the tail, with the tail fins pinched together for the maximum reading. Measurement errors are one of the most common ways anglers accidentally break the size rule.
Use a flat, rigid measuring board, not a flexible tape. A tape that follows the curve of the body can add a quarter inch or more, which is exactly the margin that turns a legal fish into a citation. Measure as soon as the fish comes aboard, before it goes into a cooler where it can curl or compress. If it doesn’t clearly make the minimum on a rigid board, it goes back.
Penalties for Going Over
Red snapper violations are federal fishery offenses. Under the Lacey Act, a person who should have known the fish were taken illegally can face civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 3373 – Penalties and Sanctions Knowing violations involving the sale or purchase of illegally taken fish worth more than $350 carry criminal penalties up to $20,000 in fines and five years in prison. A knowing violation without a sale element can bring up to $10,000 in fines and one year in prison.
NOAA enforcement officers can also seize fish, gear, and in serious cases the vessel. State agencies pile their own penalties on top when violations happen in state waters or involve state-licensed vessels. Enforcement is active during the short red snapper seasons, and the practical outcome for a recreational angler caught over the limit is confiscated fish, a real fine, and lost fishing privileges.
Where to Check Current Dates
Last year’s dates are a reliable way to get the wrong answer. Gulf for-hire closing dates depend on projected catch rates, state private angler seasons change annually with each state’s quota, and South Atlantic permit seasons are proposed fresh each year.
For Gulf for-hire seasons, NOAA Fisheries publishes opening and projected closing dates each spring.8Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. NOAA Fisheries Announces the 2026 Gulf of America Red Snapper Recreational Federal For-Hire Season For Gulf private angler seasons and bag and size limits, go directly to the coastal state’s fish and wildlife agency, because those agencies now control the private angling calendar in both state and federal Gulf waters. For South Atlantic seasons, the Federal Register carries the annual permit proposals, and state agencies announce final dates once the permits are approved.