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Old 03-09-2020, 07:29 AM   #1
fishkilla
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The Collapse of the Gulf of Mexico Grouper Fishery

Quote:
Originally Posted by fishkilla

i think there are multiple contributors to the collapse of the grouper fishery in the Gulf.

Red Tide

Overfishing

Loss of Habitat / Water Quality

i think the fisheries biologists and fishermen who have fished for years are willing to admit the gulf and for that matter the south atlantic grouper fishery is in a state of collapse. the gulf council and the NMFS do not want to admit how bad it is due to their incompetence. catch shares was suppose to keep our fisheries healthy but since 2015 it has been a steady and sharp decline in landings. i don't think the gulf can sustain such large scale recreational and commercial fishing any longer. at the current state of regulation there is no come back coming.


Originally Posted by Moose

When you say “grouper fishery” you are painting with an extremely broad stroke and I couldn’t disagree more. Gags have been on the upswing ever since the implementation of catch shares and TAC limits and aside from my extensive personal observations The NMFS agrees and has continued to expand recreational seasons even with the increase of the recreational fleet. Right now it’s harder to find a piece of bottom without keeper gags than with so I’m not sure where you are coming from on this.

Red grouper on the other hand has been negatively impacted not by overfishing but by repetitive red tide events dating back to 2014. I would assume these may be landing numbers you are referring to. You also have to consider weather events like the multiple hurricanes that have impacted the GOM over the last five years during peak fishing seasons that also contribute to reduced landings for both recreational and commercial. I agree red grouper are in trouble and in need of additional restrictions but it’s not a harvest issue but an environmental one.

Now let’s talk about the east coast grouper fishery and how seasonal rally fishing has worked out. With only about 1/16th of the viable grouper habitat shelf the grouper stocks have plummeted to the point that trip limits have finally been implemented. Still, no limit of commercial trips taken and little to reliable catch data. Fishery managers have seriously dropped the ball on the east coast by not implementing a catch share program and the gag, red, and other shallow water grouper stocks have suffered from it. Catch shares brought the gag fishery back from the brink in the Gulf. It got rid of the part time sporty commercials that the South Atlantic fishery managers still allow.

The Gulf fishery management is certainly not perfect but is light years ahead of limited entry rally fishing and actually has a good record of protecting the fishery while still allowing reasonable access to both recreational and commercial users.


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