ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- When you catch a red snapper, you take a picture of it. Those fish are just that beautiful.
There was a lot of picture-taking at the Conch House Marina in St. Augustine Friday.
The place was bustling. Just like it was last weekend. It's mostly because people are heading out to catch red snapper because the federal government opened up the season.
Captain Chuck Gleichmannn just returned from a fishing charter as a customer where each person aboard caught a red snapper. "We have three days last weekend and three days this weekend to catch some before the season ends," he said.
The limit is one red snapper per person per day. And many fisherman are going out several days so they can catch that one fish per person per day.
James Murray who also caught red snapper on a charter fishing boat said, "We limited out the first hour and a half we were out there."
This is a big deal because in 2010, the federal government said if you catch a red snapper, you cannot keep it. You had to throw it back. That's because biologists said the numbers of red snapper were dwindling in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic.
The ban took a bite out of the fishing business in Florida, one the Governor Rick Scott said creates a $7.6 billion economic impact every year.
Last year, the feds opened up a few days in which you could keep red snapper, and they're doing it again this year.
"I think every fisherman appreciates conservation and looking out after the fish. I think a lot of fisherman feel they might've gone a little overboard over here in the Atlantic," Tom Sandifer said.
Many fisherman say there's no shortage of red snapper any more.
"There's so much red snapper out in the ocean right now. We should be able to catch them year round," Steve Michaels said. He just returned from a fishing trip.
"I wish (the season) was a little longer," fisherman Dave Murray said. "And maybe during the week a little more because it's so crowded out there."
"We've gone out where we catch red snapper and not much else," Capt. Bill Rider said. He works for Endless Summer Charters. He saw the snapper numbers decline several years ago.
"I think now with this limited season, they've come back really strong. There's a lot of snapper out there," he said.
And so for this weekend, people will reel in those snappers and snap those pictures while they can.