Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) touts the success of Florida's red snapper season.
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00:00In Destin, it's great to be back in northwest Florida. Couldn't ask for a better day. I think
00:05getting into the high season here, you guys are probably going to do very well throughout May
00:11and Memorial Day in particular. And Memorial Day is going to be affected by the announcement I'm
00:15making today. So we're excited that we're able to be here to be able to do that. I'm joined by the
00:20Executive Director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Roger Young.
00:25We also have Todd Royal, who's a local here and a fisherman. Clint Rogers, Director of Community
00:31Engagement for Saltwater Restaurants. I also want to thank Legendary Marine Sales for hosting us here
00:37today. Some nice hardware you got in here, and I know there's probably a lot of people lining up
00:43to pay a lot of good money to be able to do it. We are really excited about all the great success
00:49Florida's had, but we just never rest. We always want to do better and better and better. And so
00:55if you look at kind of the trajectory that we've had since I've been governor, our economy's grown
01:00by almost 40 percent. And that's number two in America behind Idaho, which is good.
01:10During that period from 2019, the president, if you take all the debt that the state of Florida
01:15had accumulated over a 180-year period, we've retired 41 percent of it and growing. Just during
01:21my tenure, we now have the lowest per capita debt of any state in the United States.
01:29Of course, no income tax, one of the lowest tax burdens, certainly at the state level per capita
01:36in America. Even though our state now has millions of more people than New York, which is the closest
01:43state to us population-wise, our budget's less than half of New York state's budget.
01:48And in fact, we have the lowest number of state workers per capita of any state in the United
01:54States. And so we've done it very conservatively, done it well.
01:58But even with that, even with having that type of thing, we've always done there, the, the,
02:07hey, hey, man, hey, man, we got a good, that's a, that's a fraud. You get, you should be ashamed
02:13of yourself for peddling those bogus narratives. So we were able to get to,
02:19we were able to get, so in spite of all of that, in spite of the, the very cool and very conservative
02:29budget, we've been able to do really significant things on protecting environment, natural resources,
02:37Everglades restoration, water quality, huge, huge investments. Even things like trying to get these
02:42pythons out of there that are really causing a lot of problems, bee tree nourishment, you name it,
02:48transportation and roadways. We were able to do moving Florida forward, which is about a seven,
02:53eight billion extra infusion to accelerate road projects, including some stuff up here in Northwest
02:59Florida that were scheduled to be done, but weren't going to be done for maybe even started for another
03:0410, 15 years. Now these things are going to be done five to 10, even 15 years ahead of schedule.
03:10And then on education, we've done more on education, whether that's teacher salary increases,
03:15school choice, all those things that have ever been done. So we're doing, I think the big things
03:20that really matter, but we're doing it in a way that is sustainable, that respects taxpayers,
03:26that's paying down debt, that's doing all the things that so many people would like to see the
03:31federal government do quite frankly, and they haven't been able to do. So that's, you know,
03:37that's a great story. Now, as part of the economic success has been the fishing and boating community.
03:44I mean, we are the number one fishing and boating state in the United States by a country mile.
03:50It's not close. This is the place people want to be.
03:53Our impact for recreational boating is over $31 billion annually. And that represents more than
04:05a 50% increase since 2018. And if you think about it, I know people in this industry know
04:11when COVID hit, a lot of people fled to Florida because we were free and open. And some of these
04:19folks, it's kind of like if you go to Colorado, you got to learn how to ski. Well, people in Florida,
04:23you kind of got to fish or boat or do something, right? So, so many people got interested and boat
04:29sales went through the roof. I think those are probably some of the best years that we've ever
04:33had. Yeah, no, trust me, I remember.
04:38So we now have over 7,000 marine businesses, which support over 100,000 jobs across the state
04:46of Florida. We consistently rank number one in both boat registrations and marine expenditures
04:51each and every year. Total boat registrations in Florida and our most recent figures, which is 2023,
04:58was over 920,000. So that's a really, really big deal. We also have over 4 million licensed anglers
05:07and there's no better place to come fishing in the United States and maybe even in the world
05:12than here in the Sunshine State. We've also looked forward ways to, to support that in ways that
05:20benefit taxpayers. So we have done this freedom sales tax holiday over the summer for the last few
05:27years. And we're asking for that to be renewed again in the budget coming up. This is the last
05:32week of the legislative session for the legislators. They don't have an agreement on a budget between
05:37House and Senate yet. Maybe they will today, but this has been something that's been really successful
05:43over many, many years. So this is during the summer and you get a lot of recreational supplies and
05:49activities tax-free. So fishing supplies, boating and water activities, even tickets to different
05:55events, you're able to save money. And people that are very active over the summer in Florida,
06:00you know, have saved a lot of money by doing that. But we've also been able to help our anglers
06:05through discounts on hunting and fishing licenses. We did an initiative through FWC. We were able to
06:12issue more than 75,000 gold sportsman's license, which was basically, we made it more attractive.
06:20It was cheaper. And then that still generated like 24 million in revenue because it's kind of like
06:25supply side. You give people a reason to do, and a lot of people sign up and they want to do it.
06:30So we extended this program last year and want to keep that going. So right now, people that want to
06:38go out and try their hand at fishing on any of our salt and freshwater opportunities, you're able to
06:44purchase a combined annual fresh and saltwater combo license for just $5. So that's, we're really,
06:49really attractive for a lot of people. Now, we want to continue the momentum. So, you know, I have
06:58called for in this year's tax package for the legislature to enact a two-month holiday tax holiday
07:05for vessel fuels for Florida voters. So from Memorial Day to Independence Day, vessel fuel tax-free.
07:12Wouldn't that be good? It'd be really good up here because people are always out and about.
07:18So we want to continue to do that. And hopefully, I know there's a lot of public support to be able
07:24to do it. Now, which brings us to today's announcement and why we're here. So when I
07:29became governor, we had a lot of the anglers would tell me that the way the federal government had
07:36managed this red snapper was not an accurate representation of what was actually there.
07:43The data that the feds were using in both the Atlantic and the Gulf were not
07:48accurate. There were a lot more fish in the sea than what the federal government and those folks
07:54were doing. So I work with FWC. Now, the federal government has allowed the state of Florida to
08:00manage the Gulf red snapper. They do not yet allow us to manage Atlantic red snapper. And I'm working
08:07with President Trump to get that designation for the east coast of Florida, too, because if we could
08:12manage Atlantic red snapper, we'd be able to provide a lot of great benefits there, too. But
08:17on the Gulf, we were like, okay, we can do better than what was done. Do you remember what it was at
08:24the start? How many days we were doing back in 2019?
08:26Yeah. So I mean, you guys remember, I mean, you had some opportunity, but it was a pretty tight window. So we've
08:36worked really hard over succeeding years. And so 2024 was the longest red snapper season that we've ever done in the
08:44history of state management. It was 103 days for that. And that was way more than had been done five, 10 years earlier,
08:53which is really, really good. That gives people more opportunities to go out. It's good for the economy. It's good for
08:58recreation. It's good for culture. It's good for all these things. And so the 103 day season
09:03was good. We also did an extension because we had more more days. So we're happy to be able to do that.
09:13And so you had things like the September, October, November, you had like the Thanksgiving time,
09:18you had a lot of opportunities where families have time together, they can go out
09:23and fish. And so that was something that's really good. But today, I'm excited to say we're going to
09:28do even better. I am pleased to announce that for 2025, the golf red snapper recreational season
09:36will last a total, and this is record breaking of 126 days, and that shatters the records.
09:44I'm going to flip that. So this is the longest combined season that's been available for anglers
09:53in Florida history since state management began. 2025 golf red snapper summer season will open
09:59Memorial Day weekend, May 24th to 26th, then reopen June 1st to July 31st. This includes Father's Day
10:09and July 4th, obviously, which will be July 4th will be a kickoff for kind of the America 250 as we get
10:18into seven or 2026. We'll also be adding the additional fishing days in the fall for Florida
10:26families and visitors to fish red snapper daily from September 1st through the 14th, then transition
10:31to three day weekends through the end of the year. This includes holiday opportunities on Veterans Day,
10:37the Thursday through Sunday of Thanksgiving, and yes, even red snapper on Christmas for those who
10:44are so inclined. So this is highly anticipated by Floridians every single year. We know that folks
10:50from all over the Northwest Florida love to do the red snapper. We also know that the local economy loves
10:57it as well, given recreational fishing for golf red snapper has been a tradition here going back to the
11:041840s and probably even before then. So we can enjoy this historic season thanks to the great work of FWC
11:10and the State Reef Fish Survey, which gathers data directly from anglers and helps us better manage
11:17the health and stock of the species. While today's announcement is welcome for our golf communities,
11:23we have more work to do in the Atlantic. How many days were in the Atlantic last year? Federal government,
11:29so as we did, you know, the 103 days in Florida for the golf that we manage, we don't manage the Fed,
11:36the Atlantic. Feds did it two days they gave for Atlantic red snapper. So we have asked the,
11:44I've talked to the President himself, I've talked to the Secretary of Commerce, we requesting let us manage
11:50the red snapper in the Atlantic. We will do a good job, we will have accurate data, and we're going to be able to
11:56expand a lot of opportunities for a lot of people to be able to do this. And I know that the Governor
12:02of Georgia, Brian Kemp's also supportive of having Georgia manage their coast on the Atlantic side,
12:10and this is really keeping with, I think, the President's vision to empower the states and make
12:15sure the federal government isn't overstepping its bounds. So we stand ready, willing, and able to get
12:21that job done. We would love to see that happen sometime this year so that in 2026 maybe I won't
12:27have to come to Northwest Florida. Maybe I'll need to go to the east coast of Florida to announce
12:32these great opportunities. I love coming here, don't get me wrong, but I'm not exactly going to go over
12:36to the Atlantic coast and make this announcement when they get two days. So hopefully we're able to be
12:41able to get it. But I think if you look at this and you look at the number of days, so this is by year
12:47in terms of how we've done it, you really saw the renewed commitment when we came in. And then they
12:53have the days of the Atlantic next to it. So you see just a handful of days that the federal government
13:00does, and then we've really worked hard to expand this under our state management. If you go back
13:05before, you will see even less, you will see less days for Golf Red Snapper as well. I mean, we've really
13:11worked hard to get it. Even when we were first doing these announcements, I remember coming here a few
13:15years ago. Those were big announcements at the time. People were really excited because it had
13:20represented such a big expansion for what had been done in the past. Well, now this is a real,
13:26real big deal. And to be able to go out there on Memorial Day weekend, that's Saturday, Sunday,
13:30Monday, and do it, it's going to be fantastic. Obviously, June and July, great, great times to do
13:36that up here over those times. And then these key holidays, I mean, first couple weeks of September
13:42too, but then these key dates where you could do Memorial Day, or excuse me, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving,
13:47Christmas time, really a home run. And so I want to thank FWC for being involved in this. I know that
13:53there's going to be a lot of Floridians and a lot of visitors who are really going to appreciate
13:59being able to get this done. So with that, Roger, come on up.
14:07Thank you, Governor. I'm Roger Young, Executive Director at FWC. And it's an honor to be here today.
14:11What a great location this is. What a great marina. Flying in, seeing the stars and stripes over the
14:15roof just kind of makes you humble. But what a great community destined this too. It really represents
14:22what the best that Florida has to offer in fishing and boating. And it's just an honor to be here.
14:27You know, I spent summers coming here with my family through the years. And I can remember going
14:31down to Destin Harbor and getting charter boats with my grandfather and going out and fishing. And
14:36he would be proud to call it now the Gulf of America. And I just can't thank the governor enough for
14:42having the opportunities that we can have and that other families can have to enjoy those same
14:47experiences that we had. Because that's what it's all about. It's about the time that you spend
14:51with families. It's about those memories that you're going to make. And it's about the experience that you
14:55have. And that's what this is all about today. This announcement today is about families being
15:00able to have those times together to make those memories and experiences of fishing for Gulf Recreational
15:05Red Snapper. So, Governor, from your support for Gulf Recreational Red Snapper is second to none,
15:11evident today with our 126-day announcement. On behalf of the residents and visitors, we thank you
15:17for this historic season. And what that'll do is that will increase those, that time together with the
15:22families and the opportunities and the experience that families will have together. And we're so proud
15:26of that. I also want to thank the recreational anglers who helped provide data for our state
15:30reef survey, as the governor said. Without them, that data wouldn't be as sound as it is. And I want
15:36to thank especially our FWC Division of Marine Fisheries Management staff who work tirelessly to
15:42manage our world-class fisheries and enable us to have announcements like we have today. They are really
15:47the best in the country at what they do, managing fishery resources. And we look forward to doing
15:51the same thing on the Atlantic sometime soon. So, Governor, thanks for your leadership. Our
15:56resources and our opportunities are abundant here in this, the fishing and boating capital of the world.
16:01I want to say thank you. Appreciate it.
16:02Clint Rogers Good morning. Thank you,
16:11Governor, for everything you do. I'm Clint Rogers. I work with Saltwater
16:16restaurants. I'm here to talk about how this will help. Obviously, it's going to help the boating
16:21and the fisheries, but also help our restaurant industry. The red snapper is one of the most
16:27sought-after fish that people want to come here and eat. And I have nine restaurants that are all
16:34waterfront restaurants in the local area that I oversee. And we have our own commissary. We break down
16:42about 250,000 pounds of freshly food that come out of the Gulf every year and process through there.
16:49And extending this, making red snapper available is tremendous because that's definitely what people
16:58are sought after to get. So thank you very much. It also helps with our marketing. As we are a tourist
17:07destination, our local TDC is absolutely phenomenal. Jennifer Adams and her team. This gives them
17:16another bullet or more ammunition to put out there in our marketing to bring families to our area.
17:24We talk about memories and people making them on the water. They also make them in the restaurants.
17:30When you sit at our restaurants and you're right there on the water and you're looking at the Gulf of
17:34Mexico and you're eating a fresh piece of red snapper, you're making memories. And that's important.
17:39And that's part of what we do. So thanks again for everything.
17:51First and foremost, thank you, Governor DeSantis and your team for choosing this wonderful showroom
17:56where you can stay late and buy boats if you please. Everyone's here on Monday,
18:00so you won't have a problem with that. And thank you guys all for coming and taking time out of your
18:05day. We love this place. I've been here for 22 years. My name is Todd Royal. I'm a Jacksonville native.
18:11And you can tell that I moved here because unlike our voiceful friend in the back, he must live on the
18:17Atlantic because he is jonesing for some red snapper. I mean, that guy is ready to catch a red snapper.
18:24And thanks to Alex McDougall. She is the young lady that gets to be the general manager of the largest
18:31high and dry boat storage facility in the entire country, which also,
18:35Guinness Book of World Records has the largest American flag in the world painted on top of it.
18:43And she came from West Palm Beach. And then we have Trevor Hardy here who runs all of Legendary's
18:49service department at the largest service department in our entire industry. And he has been here
18:54working on charter boats catching red snapper at least all of 60 years. I'm sorry. He's actually
19:01younger than I am. And then Chuck is our regional manager here that runs all of the legendary stores.
19:06Now he's from Wisconsin, so he's never seen a red snapper. So we better get to him quick or he'll have
19:11a Tennessee hat on getting carried out of here. And then Captain Mike Parker, 30 years of being a charter
19:17boat captain here in Destin. And Captain Mike actually started the first accredited fishing class in the
19:23state of Florida. And we're looking to expand that around the state. We're not talking about a fishing
19:27club, an actual fishing class. And it all started with Captain Mike taking people out and catching a
19:33red snapper. And then beside him is Captain Mark Hoats and his first mate Kayla. And it's a great story
19:39because a professional hockey player, ex-military professional skier from Love Sugarloaf up in
19:49Vermont. And he comes down and walks in and he has a dream because he caught a red snapper
19:52one day and he buys a little 21-foot sea hunt from us. And now he's graduated. He's on team
19:57Everglades. He's got this beautiful 24-footer and his fish of choice is what? Red snapper. So not only is it
20:05the best table fair within state waters without a doubt, right? It's the best picture fish like
20:11Captain Mike and Captain Martin suggested. So it's beautiful, it's pink, it's vibrant. You can take
20:17a two and a half pound snapper and if you can extend your elbows far enough, it becomes 22.5 pound red
20:23snapper. But it is the fish that brought us all here, right? It's the fish that brought us all here
20:30and it's the fish that's going to keep us here. And what Governor DeSantis and his team have done to
20:35extend this season is priceless. It is absolutely priceless. We cannot thank you enough because
20:40economically it's great for our community, but socially to Captain Mike's point before this
20:46this meeting today, when he walks in in the fall, which we typically don't have any snapper days,
20:52when he walks in the fall and all of his kids in his class are talking about not only the fish that
20:57they caught, but the fish that they got to take home to eat or the fish that they got to take to their
21:01restaurant where you've got to catch and cook. I mean, those memories are priceless and we just want
21:06to thank you for extending this this year.
21:14Well, I think people are going to be really excited when they hear this news and
21:18you know, you look at the difference between the federal and the state
21:22management and doesn't that just say everything about these federal bureaucracies? I mean,
21:27trying to tell you that there's only enough red snapper for one or two days in the entire year,
21:32that entire Atlantic coast. Meanwhile, we're doing this and the stocks have never been better
21:38here in the Gulf. So this is really just understanding what we need to be doing.
21:44These guys working really hard to get it done and not letting the federal entrenched bureaucracy hold us
21:50back. So I'm really excited about the possibility of getting the Atlantic management sent down to
21:56Florida. We'll get on it. We'll work very closely. We'd love to get that done this year so that we can
22:03really work as quickly as possible to provide some relief for folks on the Atlantic coast. But as it's
22:09now, you know, some of these people, you know, they they live in like Jacksonville. They kind of got to
22:13come here for red snapper, right? So you guys are probably doing okay as a result of that. So thanks,
22:18everybody. And please enjoy. Okay, we have some any questions back there? Yes.
22:23Governor DeSantis, on the topic of protecting and expanding Florida's economy, the House last week
22:29passed House Bill 999 to make gold and silver legal tender. What are your thoughts on that proposal?
22:34Would you support that bill? Yes, I would. Yep.
22:38I wanted to say regarding the man that interrupted you earlier. The guy needs to get on his medication,
22:45man. I mean, good Lord. That guy's got some serious issues.
22:54All right. Thanks, everybody. We'll see you soon.
22:59All right. Thanks, guys.