The Issue
- Stocks of gag and red grouper in the Gulf of Mexico and on the Atlantic Seaboard are being severely reduced. Commercial fishing interests are the convenient whipping boys, but we need to understand that recreational anglers are having an effect as well.
- Each spring, gags and reds migrate to relatively shallow water for spawning, where they become easy prey to hook and line anglers, both commercial and recreational. Limits of recreational fish and boatloads of commercial fish are taken during the months of March, April, and May. Demand for these fish, considered by many to be the best table fare of all fish, is high and continues to grow.
The Discussion
- Season closings and limit reductions are being discussed at all levels, and both factions are fighting to make sure they "get their share". Perhaps it's time for both sides to sit back and think about what is going on.
- Biologists tell us that the over-fishing problem has more to do with small fish than it does the big brood females. Grouper are born female and can turn into a male when they mature. I say they can, because not all of them do that. Whether they change sexes or not has to do with their surroundings. If there is a need for females to reproduce and lay eggs, more of them will change to male in order to provide the necessary sperm. If there is an overabundance of fish in the area, they simply remain female and do not reproduce.
- The male population is the problem. Educated estimates indicate that only ten percent of the gag grouper in the Gulf of Mexico are males. This is an indication that we perhaps are not allowing enough of the smaller females to mature enough to turn to male. One of the proposed solutions is increasing the legal length to twenty-four inches. Many biologists say that even twenty-four inches is too small to keep. Another solution is selective season closures from March through May.
- Add to all of this the fact that un undersize grouper brought up from a depth of more than about seventy feet is unlikely to survive even when he is released. The expanded air bladder won't allow the fish to find the bottom again, and it is more often than not eaten by a predator fish before the bladder can equalize. Efforts to relieve the pressure with a knife do more harm when done improperly, and most anglers do not know the proper procedure.
The Dilemma
- The two sides are at odds and convincing articles are being written on both sides with counter-attacks aimed at preserving the status quo. Unfortunately, folks, the status quo is not maintainable!
- Perhaps it is time to do what Florida did several years ago when redfish stocks reached near annihilation. Close the season entirely for a couple of years!
A Path Forward
- Closing the season - it hurt! It really did. But, at the time, anglers were hard pressed to find even one redfish on an all day trip. Today, thanks in part to the season closure, the net restrictions, and a restricted harvest, redfish are literally being caught everywhere. We nearly wiped out the jewfish (goliath grouper) in early '90s. That season was closed then and now these fish are being caught and released in increasing numbers - so much so that there is talk of opening a season again.
- Maybe we need to bite the bullet and do the same for grouper and maybe we don't, but one thing is sure. Something has to be done and done quickly if we are to see the stocks return to a sustainable fishery. The fish can come back if we give them a chance. Haggling between commercial and recreational anglers over selfish rights won't do it. What are your thoughts?
