Comment from Brian Boland

I believe that the extremely short recreational red snapper season is completely ridiculous. I can't fathom how the recreational fisherman are impacting the total quota to warrant such restrictions on bag and season duration. Compared to the LEGAL red snapper commercial impact on the fishery in the Gulf of Mexico, the recreational impact is minute. Additionally, the ILLEGAL commercial impact could be greater including longliners and vessels from other countries. The fact that there has been a drastic reduction in recreational and commercial fishing vessels fishing in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico should warrant an increase in the recreational season and bag limits. Reasons such as fuel and maintenance cost increases, stricter regulations, and economic strain has greatly reduced the number of fishing vessels. Please consider better protection of federal waters from illegal and foreign vessels and tighter commercial regulations instead of the current restrictions on recreational fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.