Frank Williams, recreational angler, holds up a red snapper caught in the Gulf of Mexico on board a charter boat.
Captain Grayson Shepard
NOAA Fisheries has partnered with the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies at the University of Miami to support red snapper recovery.
Through this initiative, NOAA will award approximately $2 million in Inflation Reduction Act funds to improve scientific data and management decisions for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico.
Therefore, all sector agents will improve their understanding and adaptation to climate change impacts, increase data reliability, and adjust management decisions supporting red snapper populations.
Around $1 million of this funding will go to the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission offsite link to expand the for-hire at-sea program into the western Gulf of Mexico.
Finally, NOAA and the Commission will expand the coverage of at-sea data collection programs in Louisiana and Texas by distributing at-sea samplers in the for-hire fishery.
The five Gulf states will have active at-sea data collection programs for for-hire fisheries in federal waters, for the first time ever.
This funding was announced in October 2023 and is part of the $3.3 billion in investments from the Inflation Reduction Act, first announced in June 2023.
NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies at the University of Miami will also receive $1 million to develop surveys using acoustic technology.
This technology leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the detection of red snapper and abundance estimates in the Gulf of Mexico.
"NOAA Fisheries' collaborations with state and academic organizations are a critical part of strengthening scientific rigor and improving data collection for recreational fisheries, leading to more timely and accurate information for managing red snapper and other reef fish," said Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries.