Anglers want snapper limits raised as fish population recovers

Recreational fishing season for red snapper caught from federally controlled Gulf waters were extended because of Tropical Storm Debbie. Recreational fishing season for red snapper caught from federally controlled Gulf waters were extended because of Tropical Storm Debbie. Photo: Picasa Photo: Picasa Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Anglers want snapper limits raised as fish population recovers 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The Gulf of Mexico is teeming with red snapper again after decades in decline, but many anglers are wondering why they are not allowed to catch more.

The conundrum is gripping Texas and other Gulf states after the shortest-ever season for the prized species. The run ended in July after only 46 days as part of a federal effort to rebuild a population that nearly was wiped out in the 1980s by overfishing.

Now, recreational anglers frustrated at being told to pull their lines so soon when the stock appears healthy want changes in the way the fishery is managed.

"If the fish are getting bigger and more plentiful, why are we fishing less?" said Tom Hilton, a charter fishing captain based in Arcola. "It makes no sense."

The red snapper fishery is managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which dates to the mid-1970s and governs all fishing in U.S. waters. Since 2006, the law has required every federally managed fishery to have annual catch limits, to allow depleted stocks to recover while permitting some harvest.

Officials credit the law for driving the rapid rebound of red snapper in the Gulf, as well as the full recovery of the Bering Sea snow crab, haddock in the Gulf of Maine and Chinook salmon along the Northern California coast.

Anglers, meanwhile, argue that regulators lack the scientific data to justify shrinking fishing seasons and lowering bag limits from four to two fish a day. With key gaps in stock assessments, which involve interviews at boat ramps and docks and by phone, there is wide disagreement about the big picture.

'Hard to reconcile'

"There is no shortage of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico," said Greg Stunz, a marine biologist at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies in Corpus Christi. "The question is, where are they in recovery?

"People have not seen fishing this good, but the population is not where the federal government would like it to be. It's hard to reconcile."

Stunz and a team of scientists are working on a new way to assess the red snapper stock for the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, a regional body that advises federal regulators. The work should be complete by June, and some expect the results to benefit anglers.

Until then, this much is clear: The population is rebuilding and healthy enough that the National Marine Fisheries Service raised the recreational quota to nearly 4 million pounds this year, up from 3.5 million pounds in 2011.

The season, however, was shortened to 46 days, down from 53 days the year before and 75 days in 2010. Before President George W. Bush signed the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the red snapper season lasted at least six months every year.

Fishery managers have hinted at another short season next year because of preliminary federal data showing recreational fishermen exceeded their 2012 quota by at least 500,000 pounds. The overrun will be used in the formula to determine the length of the season for 2013, meaning a longer season is unlikely.

Fishermen say the policy is unfair because the Gulf-wide recreational quota is set by pounds, not the number of red snapper caught, and the fish are getting bigger. The average weight has increased to 7.1 pounds, more than twice the size of the 2007 harvest, meaning fishermen are catching fewer fish to reach the annual cap.

"It's not right," said Bob Shipp, a marine scientist at the University of South Alabama and longtime member of the Gulf Council. "If we used numbers, regardless of weight, that would be more accurate."

Fishery managers, however, say the catch limits are set by weight because the stock cannot rebuild without older, larger fish. Red snapper can live for more than 50 years, with females able to reproduce as early as age 2.

One 24-inch fish can produce as many eggs as 212 17-inch fish can, said Holly Binns, who leads the Pew Environment Group's fish conservation campaign in the Gulf.

"We need to leave enough fish in the water for their later years," Binns said. "That will lead to a robust fishery."

Itching to leave system

Fishery managers predict the red snapper population will be fully recovered by 2032, if not sooner, under the current rebuilding plan. The restrictions, some charter captains and marina owners say, have a cost, deeply cutting into their incomes.

Officials in Florida and Louisiana have talked about leaving the federal management system to open their waters. U.S. waters begin at 9 nautical miles from the coast.

Louisiana, for example, has proposed a weekend-only season over a longer period than the federal season in an attempt to boost economic activity.

Texas already allows a year-round recreational harvest and a four-fish daily bag limit in state waters, but there are few red snapper that close to shore along the upper coast. Adult snapper prefer deeper waters and tend to live near reefs and oil rigs.

Larry McKinney, who formerly managed coastal fisheries for Texas, said the federal rules should be less restrictive because the state sees a greater economic return from recreational anglers than commercial fishermen.

"There is concern that if we deviate from the plan it might slow or stop recovery," said McKinney, who now leads the Harte Research Institute, "but there is a significant part of the coastal economy that depends on these fisheries.

"You could probably go with either extreme, but the answer is somewhere in between."

matthew.tresaugue@chron.com

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