Fresh Catch Or Forbidden Fishery?

AMONG ALL OF THE REGULATIONS placed on game fish throughout Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic waters, none have caused more controversy than the rules that oversee our red snapper fishery. Across their wideranging distribution, red snapper stocks were once headed for failure. Today, rigid state and federal regulations have red snapper populations happier and healthier, but the same can’t be said about recreational anglers plying the expansive habitats of these demersal delicacies.

 

- Matt Arnholt

Recreational snapper regulations seem to change as often as the tide and drive anglers mad year after year. After several decades of overfishing, red snapper stocks were officially on the rebound in 2009. While various government and environmental agencies are pleased to see a significant rebound, with spawning biomass nearly tripling from 2005-2012, officials are far from satisfied and their efforts show no signs of letting up.

Meanwhile, anglers throughout the state continue to speak out against the flawed methods these agencies use to record data and their overall failure to take certain key factors into consideration, leading to the misguided management policies we see in place today.

Like most bottom fish, red snapper associate with structure, and various forms of natural and artificial habitat providing relief above the seafloor are essential to their survival. In waters surrounding the state, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, countless structures have been introduced in recent years, from strategically executed man-made reef modules to miscellaneous sunken debris. The introduction of new habitat over the years has been wildly beneficial to red snapper stocks, with flourishing populations present in areas once devoid of life.