Attorney General Alan Wilson defends South Carolina's fishermen and coastal wildlife

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) –Attorney General Alan Wilson joined a multistate friend-of-the-court brief to the Washington D.C. District Court in support of coastal states’ research of red snapper populations and regulation of fish and wildlife resources.

The states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina received special experimental fishing permits (EFPs) from the National Marine Fisheries Service that lengthened the red snapper seasons for recreational fishermen. The red snapper season opens on May 22, 2026, in Florida and on July 1, 2026, for the other three states.

The plaintiffs in this case are seeking to undermine these permits that were approved by the Secretary of Commerce. They claim that the permits lead to overfishing and that lengthening recreational seasons reduces commercial spoils.

“South Carolina knows its waters, its fishermen, and its economy better than any federal agency,” Attorney General Wilson said. “The management of the South Atlantic red snapper and other reef fisheries should be handled by those who are best equipped to ensure sustainable conservation.”

The States argue that EFPs present the solution to the lack of data on the South Atlantic red snapper and provide sufficient overfishing safeguards. These permits enable more accurate data collection and management of the fishery. Without the permits, the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) is the source of data generation. The MRIP assesses Washington’s cold-water salmon in the same way as a tropical fish off Florida’s coast. The States argue that this one-size-fits-all system does not provide the accurate data needed.

Attorney General Alan Wilson joined the attorneys general of Florida and Georgia in this brief.

You can read the brief here.