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Red snapper fishing season opens off Mississippi coast

Posted at 10:16 PM, May 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-25 23:16:33-04

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) – One of Mississippi’s most popular saltwater fishing seasons is open.

Red snapper fishing season began Friday in state and federal waters off Mississippi.

The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources says the season will run seven days a week through July 8. The season will resume July 28, running through Sept. 2. The department says the midseason closure lets it determine how many fish have been caught and ensure the state’s quota of red snapper isn’t caught before Labor Day.

Officials say the season will close early if recreational or for-hire boats catch their quotas early, or if the Gulf-wide quota is reached.

All anglers must register trips online or by phone with the department’s Tails ‘n’ Scales program. Anyone caught without an authorization will be fined and have fish confiscated.