Everybody keeps asking me about red snapper — why they're everywhere and you can't keep them in one place, and nowhere to be found in another. So I brought on someone who lives on both sides of that fight.
Dylan Hubbard is VP of Hubbard's Marina in Madeira Beach — a fourth-generation, nearly 100-year-old operation — and he's also president of the Florida Guides Association, VP of the Charter Fisherman's Association, and chair of the Gulf Council Reef Fish Advisory Panel. He's one of the only guests we've had who's both a working charter operator and deeply embedded in the federal fisheries decision-making process. That combination makes this one of the clearest breakdowns of what's really happening with our fishery that I've heard.
In this conversation we get into:
Why red snapper is a Gulf success story but a crisis in the South Atlantic — and how discard mortality quietly shrinks the season every year
The EFP fight, the 11th-hour injunction, and MRIP vs. state (SRFS) data — why "letting them guess" hurts anglers
How his grandfather's handwritten notes from a 1988 meeting let Dylan change federal law in two meetings to save his 39-hour trips
The gag grouper rebound, the lag between what we see on the water and what the science says, and where AI is starting to change fisheries research
Getting fired by his own dad — and reopening the marina five days after Hurricane Helene
"If you're not in the room, you're on the menu." If you care about the future of the fishery, this is the one to watch.
Connect with Dylan & Hubbard's Marina:
🌐 hubbardsmarina.com
📺 Hubbard's Marina on YouTube & Facebook — plus their live Q&A show every second Sunday of the month, 7:30 PM ET
📞 Text or call 727-393-1947
✉️ info@hubbardsmarina.com
This episode is brought to you by Star Brite — makers of Salt Off and a full line of products to take care of your boat, and a company that gives back through conservation. Check them out.
