We are calling on all Georgia anglers to encourage your elected officials to vote YES on House Bill 443, providing the necessary pathway to better access fisheries in the South Atlantic. The passage of HB 443 will give the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) the ability to collect the vital fisheries data that federal managers cannot, which has led to dwindling and unreasonably short seasons for many saltwater species like red snapper. While red snapper is the posterchild for poor federal fisheries management, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is currently, and will be in the future, considering reductions in seasons for many more species, all of which is due to the federal Marine Recreational Information Program’s (MRIP) inability to provide reliable estimates of recreational landings and releases. The National Marine Fisheries Service has even acknowledged that they are likely to overestimate how many fish anglers catch by as much as 40%, yet they continue to use this poor data to penalize recreational anglers with fewer and fewer fishing opportunities. With the highest number of red snapper off of Georgia’s coast in recorded history, enough is enough! Fortunately, there is a clear roadmap on how to get out of this perpetual spiral of shorter seasons despite increasingly abundant fish populations. A little less than a decade ago, the states to our west in the Gulf were facing similar dwindling seasons for red snapper, despite a rapidly growing red snapper population. Today, all five of the Gulf states have red snapper seasons measured in months, not days. How did they do it? The key was first developing state recreational data collection programs that are more accurate, more precise, and provide more timely information than MRIP can ever achieve. HB 443 will give the Georgia DNR that same ability. Establishing a Georgia reef and migratory fish license endorsement will: 1). Provide a more realistic number of actual Georgia anglers who fish offshore, 2). Allow the Georgia DNR to more accurately count how many fish anglers are catching, 3). Provide the necessary funding to support better information, and 4). Create the first step towards Georgia, not NMFS, managing the fisheries resources off Georgia’s coast. While HB 443 has made it through the House and Senate committee, we cannot take final passage in the Senate for granted. Help us encourage legislators to vote YES on HB 443, ensuring Georgia’s saltwater fisheries are better managed, and Georgia’s anglers have the access to those fisheries that they deserve. Please click here to encourage your elected officials to support this legislation. We thank you for your support. | 
