Okay; gets a little complicated on the laws. There is no State permit per say, just a need for either a state fishing licence for the individual or a license for the boat that will cover up to so many people fishing on the boat. The Feds on the other hand require a Federal Charter Permit for Reef Fish to charge people to take fishing for Red Snapper beyond 9 nautical miles from Florida shores in the Gulf ( 3 miles in the Atlantic). There is a moratorium on these permits, to get one you have to buy someone else out. The "catch" to having one of these permits is that you have to abide by Federal laws no matter where you are fishing, including State waters. So, if the Federal season is closed to a certain species a boat with a Federal permit can't keep that species even if the State say's you can keep a dozen each.
This ALL goes back to the Feds plan for "catch shares" and the private ownership of all the fish in the Gulf by just a few folks. Part of the reason there were 19 headboats ( 3 in Destin) that got to keep ALL the black Grouper and a couple Red Snappers per person year 'round for the past 2 years even when no when else could. I have NO sympathy for these boats or the folks that fished on 'em not being able to keep snapper for a few days when the State season is open this year a few days longer than the Federal season in May and the fall. Go to the CCA (coastal conservation association) website and search catch shares... get someone elses opinions. The current proposed Federal Season for Red Snapper is only 6 to 8 days for the general public this year and 40 to 45 days for those with a federal reef fish permit due to "sector separation" while the proposed state season will be 77 days for EVERYBODY.
I have been doing this long enough that I have a couple "grandfathered" Federal Reef Fish permits. One is on loan to a friend and the other had been on the "Dead Fish" until all this Federal nonsense started. I bought another boat and put my Federal permit on that and now have to run 2 boats to give my clients a shot at fishing year 'round and stay legal, I run the Dead Fish most of the year in State waters and the 'Political Persuasion" when I plan on running out offshore beyond 9 miles. I will also need to have a history of using the Federal permit if indeed the Feds go to catch shares and private ownership so I can get some shares for my clients to catch.
As far as there being an affordable way to catch Red Snapper in May. There are lots of charter boats that do not have Federal permits. Grayton Beach has 15 (county) permitted charter boats that run from there including me. Quite a few have excellent, experienced local captains that will put you on fish even on a short 3 hour trip, and you won't even have to bait your own hook or ride for 2 hours before you start fishing. It's pretty neat to be able to limit out within an hour of getting on the boat !
Captain Larry Pentel
DeadFish
