Florida · Red snapper
Red snapper size limit in Florida
You can keep one today — within these limits
This one moves. FWC has changed the season for this species mid-year before, so treat the status below as of this morning and check again before you go.
gulf
Open today| Size limit | 16 inches and up | total length |
|---|---|---|
| Daily bag | 2 | per person per day |
Florida state waters, private recreational anglers. FWC has adjusted this season mid-year before after a quota overage, so confirm the day before you go. Federal Gulf waters can run a separate, shorter season set by NOAA.
Also needed: State Reef Fish Angler designation, free, for private vessels
Counts inside the 10-fish snapper aggregate.
atlantic
Status unclearTwo FWC pages say different things, and we checked both again on 16 August 2026. The dedicated Atlantic red snapper page puts the heading 'Temporarily Postponed' over the 2026 season dates and lists no minimum size and one fish per person. The general snapper table shows the same fishery as open in state waters, at a 20-inch minimum and two per person. FWC publishes the postponement as a bare status and keeps the reason to itself; we looked for one and the page stays silent on that point. So we report the status in the agency's own wording and leave both sets of figures where they are, unchosen.
Also needed: State Reef Fish Angler designation plus a trip declaration in FWC's Atlantic Red Snapper Reporting System
This is the one rule on this page we will not state. Go to FWC directly before targeting Atlantic red snapper.
What we left out on purpose
- Atlantic red snapper is deliberately left unstated. FWC's dedicated season page marks the 2026 season 'Temporarily Postponed' and gives one set of figures; its general snapper table shows the fishery open with a different size and bag limit. The agency does not say why the season was postponed, and we are not going to fill that gap with a reason of our own. Publishing either number would be a guess.
- Gag grouper is in flux on both coasts: the Gulf is closed through August 31, 2026 after a quota overage, and the Atlantic and Monroe closed by executive order effective August 2, 2026 with no stated reopening. The dates here are what FWC published; the daily rebuild re-evaluates them.
- The Gulf red snapper weekend and holiday schedule was read from a summarised page fetch rather than a raw table. The dates are reproduced as published, but this is the entry most worth re-reading at the agency before a trip.
- Several species carry separate rules inside Biscayne National Park. Those figures are not captured here.
- Mutton snapper spawning-area closures around the Dry Tortugas are referenced in angling literature but did not appear on the FWC page read, so none is listed.
- Red drum and spotted seatrout were missing entirely until the 2026-08-08 check despite being Florida's two most iconic inshore species. Both are found here grouped by zone rather than listing all nine FWC management zones individually — every zone with an identical rule is combined into one region, so no figure differs from FWC's own breakdown.
- The old FWC 'quickchart.pdf' summary (last modified December 2023) was found during this pass and deliberately not used — it predates the 2025–2026 gag grouper closures and the current red snapper season structure by more than two years.
- Snapper and grouper species beyond what is already carried here — including cubera, schoolmaster and gray triggerfish, tilefish and vermilion snapper — were not individually re-checked on 2026-08-08. Only the species already on this page, plus red drum, spotted seatrout, king mackerel, greater amberjack and hogfish, were verified this pass.
Other species limits in Florida
Where to try today
- Key West 5/10 · Picky
- Lake Okeechobee 6/10 · Biting
- Navarre Pier 3/10 · Lockjaw
- St. Marks River 5/10 · Picky
- Tampa Bay 4/10 · Picky