Louisiana Backs Test Permit for State-Managed Greater Amberjack Season

Louisiana is pushing for more control over how recreational greater amberjack is managed off its coast, and this is exactly the kind of fight Gulf anglers understand.

The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission passed a resolution supporting LDWF’s application to NOAA Fisheries for an Exempted Fishing Permit. The permit would test state management of the recreational greater amberjack season using Louisiana’s LA Creel harvest-monitoring system and would let the department collect biological data during periods when anglers are actually encountering fish.

The proposal lays out a 61-day greater amberjack season from June 1 through July 31 in 2027, 2028, and 2029. LDWF says the structure would give private anglers and for-hire captains a defined annual season, improve monitoring, and likely reduce dead discards by allowing fishing during months when amberjack interactions are already high instead of forcing anglers to throw back fish caught out of season.

The numbers show why people are frustrated. Under the current federal system, NOAA closed federal recreational amberjack harvest on September 27, 2025, after reported 2024/2025 landings hit 882,451 pounds against a 404,000-pound annual catch limit.

Good fisheries management should count real fish, real effort, and real conditions on the water. If LA Creel can provide faster, tighter harvest data like Louisiana argues it has for red snapper, then testing that approach on amberjack makes sense. Opportunity and conservation do not have to be enemies when the data is honest and the rules are built around what is actually happening offshore.