The Two Sides of the Issue
Almost all recreational anglers and commercial fishermen in this area are up in arms about the closure. They currently see a huge rebound in the number of legal red snapper being caught. The answer from the SAFMC is that we are fishing a good hatch year, and that next year it will be even worse. The studies and data are being questioned as bogus. Anglers believe the studies to be inaccurate.Recreational and commercial fishermen are all accused of being selfish and not looking to the future. There are even some recreational anglers and at least one charter captain that I know who are in favor of the closure plan. Emotions run high in these groups. For once, the two groups are untied in their effort to avoid the closure. Public Input meetings are a generally raucous event wherever they are held.
The Law
All of the pressure centers on the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which was reauthorized by congress in 2007. It requires that specific action be taken and controls be put in place to stop overfishing for all species of fish in two years. While that is a noble goal, it places what many consider an undue burden on the fisheries management people to come up with a plan using only the seat of their pants or at best, questionable data in determining whether a particular species is overfished or not.The data that says snapper are overfished are considered suspect by anglers. In some cases, they may even be right, but the fact remains – if the SAFMC says that a species is overfished, the law requires them to take action.
Bottom Line
Hey – there is no bottom line in this foray. As the population grows, the number of anglers grows and the demand for fish on the table puts even more pressure on the fishing resource. The technical advances in fish finding and catching equipment makes the angler far more efficient than in years past. Better boats and engines that are more dependable have anglers heading offshore in droves where in years past they might never venture. All of this equates to more fishing pressure. Are the outcries from selfish fishermen who simply want to take what they can while they can – with no regard for future generations? Who knows? The simple fact is – even if the existing data is wrong, it won’t be long before we reach an overfishing situation, not only on red snapper but on other species.When I was a kid, we could catch as many red drum (redfish) as we could get in the boat – literally hundreds in a day. Nobody cared much for redfish in the 50’s and 60’s. They were a trash fish. My dad would crank up and leave a school because they were taking up our live bait – and he wanted to catch a “good” fish. Today redfish are a premier target – for both angling enjoyment and the table. And, while they are protected by reduced bag and increased size limits, they are under a lot of fishing pressure. I catch a few when I go – not hundreds as in years past.
So – what will be the next “trash” fish to be targeted when the current preferred catch is overfished? Only time will tell, but I can promise you this: if we don’t protect our renewable resource by sensible fishing – take only what you will eat that day and then quit – we will all be facing a future of dreaming about fishing in past years because we can’t fish any longer. The tree huggers will have won without firing a shot as they say. We will have done it to ourselves. Be a conserver and report violations, or watch your fishing future disappear. It’s your choice!
