COLUMBIA, SC  — South Carolina’s congressional delegation, led by Congressman Russell Fry (R-Surfside Beach) and joined by U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott and Representatives Joe Wilson, Ralph Norman, Nancy Mace, William Timmons, and Sheri Biggs, has formally urged U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to transfer management of the South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery to the states.

In a joint letter sent this week, the delegation expressed “strong support for a new state-led framework to ensure more effective, science-based stewardship” of a fishery at the center of South Carolina’s $6.5 billion recreational boating and fishing industry.

“For too long, federal mismanagement has hurt our coastal communities and undermined trust in the system,” said Congressman Fry. “South Carolina anglers deserve better than critical decisions based on bad data. It’s time to follow the successful model we’ve seen in the Gulf of America and let states lead the way, just like we did under the first Trump administration in the Gulf.”

The letter represents a growing movement to shift red snapper management away from the federal government’s flawed, one-size-fits-all model and toward a state-led approach grounded in better data, local knowledge and on-the-water realities.

“NOAA’s continued use of highly questionable MRIP estimates has led to disastrous, economically harmful policies that unnecessarily restrict angler access and harm our coastal communities,” the delegation wrote, citing the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP), which the National Academy of Sciences has labeled “fatally flawed.”

Despite NOAA’s own 2021 stock assessment showing red snapper are “rebuilding ahead of schedule,” the agency allowed just one day of recreational harvest in the South Atlantic in 2024.

The congressional letter follows a May 15 letter from Governor Henry McMaster, who cautioned Secretary Lutnick that NOAA’s new restrictions “further undermine public confidence in the federal government’s management of fisheries off our coast.”

McMaster called the potential closure from Amendment 59 “an increasing threat to our state’s economy,” which includes more than 725,000 licensed anglers, nearly 500,000 registered boats, and over 640 marine-dependent businesses.

“I ask that you give thoughtful consideration to reversing NOAA’s restrictions on red snapper fishing in the South Atlantic and remove the barriers to offshore recreational fishing they create,” McMaster wrote in his letter.

The delegation’s action also comes just weeks after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced a record-setting 126-day red snapper season for Gulf anglers — made possible by that region’s successful shift to state-led fisheries management during President Trump’s first term in 2017.

In support of the overarching move to empower the states, Governor McMaster recently signed and heralded State Senator Stephen Goldfinch’s (R-Georgetown) S. 219, a state law giving South Carolina authority over all 55 species in the snapper-grouper complex within state waters.

“South Carolina continues to be bound by federal regulations that don’t reflect the reality on our coast,” said Senator Goldfinch. “While Gulf states are expanding their fishing seasons, we’ve continuously faced more restrictive measures based off flawed science and data practices from NOAA, leading to just a single day of snapper fishing and threatened closures.”

“The Gulf of America faced a similar crisis and found a solution,” the congressional delegation wrote. “That effort restored reasonable access, improved accountability, and strengthened conservation outcomes. We believe it is time for the South Atlantic to follow that successful example.”

Sportfishing leaders applauded South Carolina’s unified leadership and echoed the call for urgent reform.

“Our federal system is failing the people who rely on these waters,” said Gettys Brannon, President and CEO of the South Carolina Boating & Fishing Alliance. “Congressman Fry and Governor McMaster have shown tremendous leadership. It’s time for a better way forward: one that puts local knowledge and modern science at the heart of fisheries management.”

“The one-size-fits-all approach from Washington is broken,” said Jeff Angers, President of the Center for Sportfishing Policy. “The Gulf states proved that when you empower state agencies with the right tools, access improves, conservation strengthens, and trust is restored. The South Atlantic deserves that same opportunity.”

“Recreational boating and fishing in South Carolina contributes $6.5 billion to the state’s economy and supports more than 27,000 jobs,” added Martha Guyas, Southeast Fisheries Policy Director for the American Sportfishing Association. “However, federal management of red snapper has been excessively restrictive, limiting the ability of anglers to get on the water and harvest this remarkably abundant fishery. We thank the South Carolina Congressional delegation for supporting solutions to improve red snapper management for the benefit of all those who enjoy our marine resources.”

The delegation’s letter urges the U.S. Department of Commerce to:

1.    Pause implementation of Amendment 59 and similar sweeping closures;

2.    Support cooperative, state-led fisheries management modeled after the Gulf red snapper program, and

3.    Empower states to deliver better data, more balanced access, and greater accountability in managing offshore fisheries.

States across the South Atlantic are preparing to expand offshore angler surveys and modernize data collection efforts, laying the groundwork for a regional shift toward state-led fisheries management modeled after the successful Gulf program.

“Our position is simple,” added Brannon. “When the states are allowed to lead, fisheries recover, public trust improves, and recreational opportunity grows. That’s the future we’re fighting for.”

For the full letter click here.