Alabama has announced an opening date for its 2024 recreational red snapper fishing season.

The Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) has set a May 24 opening date for the season. It will consist of four-day weekends, Friday through Monday, until officials estimate that the state is approaching its recreational harvest quota. That quota has not yet been set by NOAA Fisheries.

Additionally, there will be a few bonus days around July 4, which falls on a Thursday. That whole week will be open for recreational red snapper fishing.

“We anticipate having a great red snapper season in 2024,” said Chris Blankenship, ADCNR Commissioner. “I am excited to get back out and catch some big red snapper with family and friends in Alabama’s Artificial Reef Zones again this summer. We will continue working to ensure our citizens and visitors have access to the abundant red snapper fishery off the coast of Alabama.”

In ADCNR’s announcement of the season start, it said that it expects the 2024 quota to be higher than the 2023 private angler, which was a big drop from 2022 and generated considerable political backlash.

For the 2022 season, the recreational quota for the popular game species was around 1.12 million pounds – but Alabama anglers brought in well under 500,000 pounds, even though the season was extended until Dec. 31.

That poor showing in 2022 prompted regulators to slash the quota for 2023, eventually setting it at 591,185 pounds. The move was controversial: While regulators said the lower harvest indicated that the fishery needed time to recover, others – including Sean Powers, chair of marine sciences at the University of South Alabama and one of the lead researchers on a comprehensive study called the Great American Red Snapper Count — said that high gas prices and bad weather where major factors that drove the harvest down.

The 2023 season opened May 26. Despite concerns in some quarters that the lower quota might run out before summer’s end, the season closed on Oct. 17.

The daily bag limit will be two red snapper per person per day, with a minimum size limit of 16 inches total length. This is the same as 2023.

The recreational season dates apply to “anglers fishing from shore, private recreational vessels and state-licensed Alabama commercial party boats that do not hold federal for-hire fishing permits.”

For full details, including license requirements and information on the state’s Snapper Check program, a mandatory system for reporting snapper catch to the state, visit www.outdooralabama.com.