The Collapse of the Gulf of Mexico Grouper Fishery

[CuzzA]

Originally Posted by fishkilla

Where did all the red grouper go?

50 ft of water NorthWest of Johns Pass August 2013. Red Grouper Nursury

Can anyone show me red grouper footage like this from this past summer? Or summer 2021,2020,2019,2018?

Where did all the grouper go?

"In the resturant."

#horriblefisheriesmanagment #someoneisstealingyourfishery
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Water quality (red tide) doesn't help either. And that shit isn't going to get any better with the number of people moving here and the local governments quick to approve building permits to develop the land without increasing the waste processing infrastructure.

There's just too many damn people. I am a North Pinellas native and am disgusted with the traffic here today. More people after the same resource.

When is the last time any significant addition has been made to the artificial reef system? We need more structure if we're going to support more people with fish. I am not for oil rigs off our beaches, but the California and North Gulf rigs have significantly expanded those State's fisheries.

Cool video.

[sharpshooter]

Originally Posted by CuzzA

Water quality (red tide) doesn't help either. And that shit isn't going to get any better with the number of people moving here and the local governments quick to approve building permits to develop the land without increasing the waste processing infrastructure.

There's just too many damn people. I am a North Pinellas native and am disgusted with the traffic here today. More people after the same resource.

When is the last time any significant addition has been made to the artificial reef system? We need more structure if we're going to support more people with fish. I am not for oil rigs off our beaches, but the California and North Gulf rigs have significantly expanded those State's fisheries.

Cool video.

Good luck finding a boat trailer parking place at the boat ramps on the weekend after 06:30. If you have a 26' boat or longer. Returning late afternoon is a zoo at the boat ramp too.

[fishkilla]

RICE’S WHALES ISSUE IN THE GULF OF MEXICO


Red Grouper just closed, how come I can't find my limit of red snapper less than 60 miles from shore, Gag Grouper are only open 2 months this year, where are all the Amberjack....

Let's get everyone fired up about going idle speed in 300 to 1200 ft of water. When you're done being distracted you might notice that your fish box is much more empty than it used to be.

[sharpshooter]

Ben, we were hook and line fishing in 40' out of JP last Thursday for a few hours. We hit 3 different spots. We caught and released about 9 red grouper. Sizes from a 6" to 12". Ten or more years ago. We would of caught a few keepers. I personally think there's a lot more fishing pressure than years ago. Would be interesting to see how many registered boats are in this area now verses 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago. Also, reflecting back thru those years. I can remember seeing huge schools of grunts inshore on the reefs. Sometimes, a gag or goe would dart into a hole. You shine a light in the hole and couldn't see your targeted fish cause of all the grunts in front of the fish. Those same reefs now hold a few grunts.

[fishkilla]

Most people have no idea how bountiful the Gulf used to be. They think you have to run a minimum of 40 miles to catch decent fish. We used to troll Rapalas for Gags in the Bay. (1997-2000) This was years before we started going offshore and diving. It was not uncommon to come home with 4 or 5 nice keepers. Yes the size limit was 20 inches but we did this in an 18 ft center console launching from Piney Point. I think we might have burned 10 gallons of gas for the whole day of fishing.

[fishkilla]

Anyone still want to argue that the Gulf of Mexicos grouper fishery is still in good shape? How about on the east coast? I just dove for 2 days out of Sebastian and didn't see a Grey (gag) We used to shoot enough gags during mini to pay for fuel for the whole trip and sometimes a little extra. They all ded meow.

[zackistre]

Seeing more gags and bigger than ever from 5 feet out to 200 feet diving in the gulf. Been diving in the gulf since 2001 and commercial since 2012 They are all over on bottom they shouldn't even be on. Have videos of 20-100 head on tiny rk piles, hard bottom, Red grp bottom, wrecks etc etc etc. You name it they are on it. Longliners are catching them in 5-600 feet also which used to never happen. They are fishing for tile and deep water grp on muddy and sandy bottom still catching gags. Crazy thing is they are having to toss back 1000s of # of dead fish because the restrictions and data are so off and wrong.
The fish are moving like always following bait avoiding pressure etc. You just have to know where and when to look.

East coast is little different most gags and fish/bait seem to be little deeper in FL than years past. Head north a little bit still lots of gags if you know where to look.

[fishkilla]

I used to perceive things the way you do. When I was trying to make a living shooting fish I always had an optimistic view on the fishery and how the data was wrong. When you step back and view the entire Eastern Gulfs ecosystem and the lack of sizable fish any where near human populations you have to agree that we are taking too many fish out too quickly. I shouldn't have to take a boat 100 miles North or South away from Tampa/St. Pete to find a decent pile of mangrove snapper to shoot. I know this because we used to go out of Johns Pass in an 18ft center console 15 miles and shoot some nice fish in the late 1990's and early 2000's.

Let's say you are right. Why can't the commercial sector catch the full deep water grouper allocation? What about shallow water grouper? Are there not enough comm fishermen to catch all the fish? I don't know of any young full time comm gulf reef fisherman that owns a nice truck, a boat and can make a mortgage payment on time. I know of fish houses that have big beautiful boats ready to go and they can't keep a full time crew on them because the fishing is so difficult.

The East Coast (South Atlantic Fishery) is roached. I have a friend who has been diving up in North Carolina every summer since 2018. The first summer with him was stellar. 2019 was good. 2020 and on has been terrible. C-more maps gave him all the data he needed to find every little break and pot hole. You can only shoot a dozen big scamps off a break once and then next year there might be 2 or 3 and then the next year there is nothing. 500lb trip limit on Hogs. You might as well make it 100. They gone. The only thing sustaining him is a a pension from an old job and getting Meg teeth off the bottom in 100ft. Down in Florida (Sebastian/Ft. Pierce) the Gags, Red groupers, Scamps and occasional Warsaw are non existent. Where did the mangos go? The Black Sea Bass, Triggerfish, Flounder, Amberjacks, Big Lobsters are where? Further North? The guys out of Jacksonville are complaining about how the Muttons are thinning out quick.

Bigger faster boats loaded to the gills with technology to find every last piece of bottom further and further from home port are catching anything and everything worth a buck a pound or more. ($1.00/lb) Why is the removal of every last fish from our waters allowed? Some might think this is just government incompetence. Answer these two questions and you might figure out what might actually be going on.

1) How much seafood is imported into this country every year?

2) Would an increase in domestically caught seafood be good for the foreign seafood importers?


This is probably not the only reason why our fisheries are so mismanaged. Ask yourself these questions as well.

1) How many quota (IFQ) holders actually catch their own fish?

2) How many large land owners in this country actually farm their own land?

3) Have giant multinational corporations taken over sectors of our domestic economy?

4) If the IFQ system was set up to benefit commercial fishermen then how come any US citizen or US corporation can own Gulf of Mexico Grouper, Tilefish and Red Snapper quota?

I just play sharecropper of the ocean occasionally now. There are no longer an illusions of making a real paycheck from the Gulf or Atlantic.



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[Ted Brodley]

Northern Gulf - red grouper population is better than it has been in the last 25 years. No, they aren't crawling on the beach, but it appears to be a pretty healthy fishery. Folks that don't really know how to fish are catching them.

Gag grouper regs have obviously been strict over the last few years, and it has significantly helped. We are seeing dozens of gags on spots, similar to what it was like 15-20 years ago. There are good fish, over 20 pounds, mixed in too.

It's not all doom and gloom.

We see red snapper getting thinned out with the longer seasons. It's not like they aren't plentiful, but you have to run farther and deeper to get to the concentrations of fish.

[codfishhead]

I'm out of Dunedin. Shallowest waters on the planet. Need to run 50 mils out to the pipeline for ARS. sucks

I was just up in the panhandle fishing and diving. Night andDay from where I am. I rather drive to the other other side or to the Keys noted of these long ass boat rides. Inshore there lots of fish to catch. Not a ton shoot.

Going to look for some Mangos and Sheepies tomorrow around. Replacing my pole spear bans tonight.

Any others from do shallow shooting around Clearwater?