The new South Atlantic red snapper assessment documents some changes in red snapper's condition but the story remains the same: The fish are still at critically low population levels and in urgent need of protection.
This fact sheet is a comparison between the 2008 red snapper study, Southeast Data Assessment and Review 15, and SEDAR 24 finalized in October 2010. In December 2010, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council could use the new study to modify the red snapper recovery plan, which includes a moratorium on red snapper fishing and a 4,827-square-mile ocean area closed to bottom fishing to protect red snapper caught accidentally when fishermen target other deep-dwelling species.