U.S. Rep. Mike Ezell (R-Miss.) is one of a handful of congressional members who recently put together a bill to expand Mississippi and other Gulf states’ jurisdiction offshore – a measure Ezell believes would create several benefits, including a better fishing experience.
The Offshore Parity Act was introduced in the House last month and would extend Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana’s offshore boundaries from the current three nautical miles to nine nautical miles. Currently, both Texas and Florida have nine nautical miles of jurisdiction, which date back centuries to Texas’ previous status as an independent republic and inherited Spanish boundaries in Florida. The jurisdictions were upheld through the Submerged Lands Act of 1953, which also granted other Gulf states three nautical miles.
The bill, as Ezell put it during Wednesday’s episode of Mornings with Richard Cross, is “about fairness.” Benefits, according to him, would include greater access to energy and marine resources and a chance at further economic development and state revenues.
But the biggest benefit for the average Mississippian, Ezell said, could be a more enjoyable experience for fishermen trying to catch red snapper.
“In my opinion, and I push this regularly, it [could] up the limit on catching red snapper,” Ezell said. “As you and I know, when you go offshore fishing, if you can’t keep but two or three fish, that’s no fun. I like to catch more than two or three if I’m going to spend a day out on the boat. You’ve got to load a boat down with people before you can even have a decent number of fish brought back home for a fish fry.”
Mississippi’s recreational red snapper limit is currently two fish per day in season with a slot size of at least 16 inches. If the Offshore Parity Act were to be passed by both the House and Senate and signed into law by President Donald Trump, Gulf states would gain more authority to apply their own recreational fishing rules – including bag limits – in waters that are currently under federal control.
Right now, many species such as red snapper in federal Gulf waters are managed primarily under rules through agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources sets catch limits aligned with Gulf federal management rules.
Congressional members from Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana are working in tandem to move the bill forward. Those who introduced it alongside Ezell were Reps. Shomari Figures (D-Ala.), Troy A. Carter Sr. (D-La.), and Clay Higgins (R-La.).