The Collapse of the Gulf of Mexico Grouper Fishery

[gcracker89]

Question
Have there not been length increases in this time period, would that not reduce poundage?
>>One year it a legal fish and the next its not and you have to throw it back???

[Spear One]

Originally Posted by gcracker89

Question
Have there not been length increases in this time period, would that not reduce poundage?
>>One year it a legal fish and the next its not and you have to throw it back???

I think the Gag limit has been 24” for commercial guys for quite some time. However, I believe there has been several adjustments to Red Grouper in the recent past.

[kwyoungspear]

Originally Posted by fishkilla

Lets do the math. Arithmetic does not lie.

the only hard numbers we get are from the commercial industry the recreational estimates are at best disseminated from witch craft.


here is where i'm getting my data from https://portal.southeast.fisheries.n...wanceTable.pdf

let's start with gags

Commercial Landings

2010 - 35%
2011 - 74%
2012 - 92%
2013 - 81%
2014 - 70%
2015 - 57%
2016 - 97%
2017 - 52%
2018 - 52%
2019 - 56%

as of right now 2020 is on target to do about 50% of the TAC (total allowable catch)

when i get back from my trip i will go more into depth about these numbers and i will also share my catch decline and the decline of the lease price of Gag grouper allocation.

with the Gag grouper wholesale price around $6 to $7 a lb whole fish gutted, either there are not enough commercial fishermen catching Gag grouper or there are not enough Gag grouper to catch. i agree with the later.

Are you going to go more in depth and defend your claim? I’m really bored and vaguely interested in what you see that other apparently aren’t.

[kywestfreediver]

Does the lease price play into it all in your minds? I used to commercial dive the gulf a lot on my dad's boat, more to pay for the trips not make a business. But it was more profitable to fill the boat with mangrove snapper than it was to target gag grouper, plus a lot easier in the dirty gulf water in the keys.

[salvor6]

One reason you see less gag grouper is because of the goliath grouper. They eat all the gags. There are so many of them out in the Gulf and they are HUGE! We need a fishing season on goliath grouper to thin the heard.

[grey2112]

Originally Posted by salvor6

One reason you see less gag grouper is because of the goliath grouper. They eat all the gags. There are so many of them out in the Gulf and they are HUGE! We need a fishing season on goliath grouper to thin the heard.

Heard of what?

[fishkilla]

thoughts on lack of landings? price for fish is still high.







.

[sharpshooter]

Weather for 2020 hasn't been the greatest either for going offshore. For lots of people 2020 hasn't been a great year at all.

[CuzzA]

Well when the government shuts down all the restaurants due to the Chinese Virus there's not going to be a whole lot of demand.

I see lots of gags often, if we rolled back father time to when an 18" gag was legal no one would be complaining there aren't any gags.

Nevertheless, until we have a recreational reporting system no one knows what's being harvested, but recreational harvest is likely far more than commercial.

[sharpshooter]

I'm aging myself here. I can remember gags being open all year and the per person limit was 10. I think the size limit was either 16" or even after it was raised to 18". I'd go on the Grounds Creeper aka Grounds Keeper out of Johns Pass on 2 day MG spearing trips with Jimmy Fentress of Jim's Dive Shop. Everybody had 2 or 3 of the 150 quart coolers in their vehicles to put their harvest in upon return. People thought the ocean was an endless supply.

[fishkilla]

jose you and i ran plenty of charters to the Grounds in the early 2000's and put a pretty big dent into that 1000 lb box almost every time with a bunch of rec shooters.

[sharpshooter]

Ben, that's true. We even had some guys from the other coast complain on one trip after we returned and docked. That they didn't shoot enough fish after filling their coolers. One of their guys drove to Walmart to buy another 150 qt. cooler. To put the rest of the fish in. I miss those days on the Holy Spear It.

[kmoose]

Originally Posted by fishkilla

thoughts on lack of landings? price for fish is still high.
.

Record number of tropical storms, covid crushing market demand, Bull shark population explosion. Is this a trick question?

Go take a look at rec trip reports on THT and Fakebook. Sportys finally got a weather break last weekend and clobbered gags in 20' to 150'.

A good friend of mine always said "everyone has an agenda that usually equates to $$$$ when they proclaim to know the current state of the fisheries and what should be done."

[CuzzA]

Originally Posted by kmoose

Record number of tropical storms, covid crushing market demand, Bull shark population explosion. Is this a trick question?

Go take a look at rec trip reports on THT and Fakebook. Sportys finally got a weather break last weekend and clobbered gags in 20' to 150'.

A good friend of mine always said "everyone has an agenda that usually equates to $$$$ when they proclaim to know the current state of the fisheries and what should be done."

I wonder how many reef permits aren't even being fished and just held as an investment knowing that with no new permits being issued time and population will drive demand and continue to make them more valuable.

[kwyoungspear]

Originally Posted by CuzzA

I wonder how many reef permits aren't even being fished and just held as an investment knowing that with no new permits being issued time and population will drive demand and continue to make them more valuable.

https://portal.southeast.fisheries.n..._SEROFinal.pdf

This link has all the data to answer your question