MEXICO BEACH — For area fishermen, Tropical Storm Debby was just the icing on the cake for an already botched snapper season.

The National Marine Fisheries Service announced a six-day extension to snapper season last week, but for those who make a living on the water, those six days won't make up for time lost to their already-short 40-day window for snapper, local captains said. 

Mexico Beach Charter Captain Chip Blackburn has lost 274 hours of work since June 1 due to inclement weather, in what should be his busiest time of year.

Blackburn charges $110 per hour for charter trips, for a total of about $30,000 in lost wages this snapper season. While an extra six days will help, it won't make up completely for missed days, he said. 

"We were lucky to get six days, but it doesn't make up for the days we've lost," said Blackburn, who captains the charter boat "Miss Mary" out of Mexico Beach. "I'm really shocked that we got any days at all."

Those extra six days booked almost instantly for Blackburn.

"Most of the calls we get, particularly in the summer months, are for red snapper," Blackburn said. "We've always had a big snapper fishery — this area's renowned for it."

High demand for snapper season means plenty of work through July 17 if the weather holds up.

"We'll be running 16 hours a day for those six days," he said. "We've had more people calling than we've got slots for."

Blackburn returned from a charter trip last week with a full load of snapper, the limit is two per person, with a 33-pounder in the mix. He said his charter trips can usually catch their snapper quota in about 10 minutes.

"I've been fishing here since the ‘60s and that's about as good as it gets," said Glen Shivers, a St. Joe Beach resident who joined Blackburn on his Monday trip. 

Snapper season began June 1, and Blackburn said those first 30 days produced "barely fishable" conditions in the Gulf. Strong winds from the east canceled many trips in early June, and Tropical Storm Debby knocked off even more days later in the month.

Blackburn said the limited seasons often force anglers into weather conditions they shouldn't be out in. He admitted to fishing a few days that he shouldn't have this season.

"(Anglers) will go out in conditions they shouldn't because they're forced into this derby-style fishery," Blackburn said. "We had a couple days when we really shouldn't have gone."

In his years as a charter captain, Blackburn has seen snapper season go from a full year to six months to only 40 days, and quotas drop from six per person to four and then four to two.

"This has nothing to do with the health of the fisheries," Blackburn said of the limited seasons. "The (snapper) fishery at one point it was stressed, but it's not stressed anymore. I can't even tell you how many snapper we've got out there."

The extension came after Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Panama City, sent a letter to Roy Crabtree, NOAA Fisheries southeast regional administrator, asking for a 21-day extension of snapper season through the end of July.

"I certainly would have liked more, but we're pleased with what we got," Southerland said. "Right now we're just happy with the days we got because it will help the local economy."

Southerland cited a crippling impact from Tropical Storm Debby adding to an already insufficient snapper season for charter boat captains and recreational anglers alike.

"(Fishing) is the American pastime," Southerland said. "I'm going to be fighting for the American recreational fisherman's right to take their kids out on the water."