Normally, harvesting 108 red snapper from the South Atlantic might be enough to earn you some jail time. Not if you have Florida Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs).

Studies being conducted on Florida’s east coast right now are allowing recreational anglers to catch and keep red snapper, and there’s still plenty of opportunity to put your name in the hat for a chance at an EFP.

Team Buck Rogers Charters out of Jacksonville got their hands on four of these golden tickets known as EFPs, and they are busily cashing them in. With an allowance of 36 red snapper per trip, six lucky anglers likely have sore arms from pumping and reeling.

“We’re piling them up. We’ve got four permits and 36 snapper per trip, and we’re 100 percent so far,” said Capt. Chad Starling. “It’s not hard. We did it in 45 minutes. That’s what happens when it’s been shut down for 14 years.”

Fishing with an Exempted Fishing Permit

EFPs allow the take of out-of-season fish for scientific research. Team Buck Rogers is participating in one of three red snapper and grouper studies being conducted right now by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). With a captain, a mate, six anglers and an FWC representative onboard, they have fished three of these fast-paced meat runs on September 18, 19, 20. Starling is confident they’ll boat their 36 snapper a fourth time on Oct. 1.

“Every fish gets harvested,” Starling said. “I mean, you go out and fish for 45 minutes, keep everything you catch and then come back.”

In a social media post on Sept. 23, Team Buck Rogers said their captains have carpal tunnel syndrome from filleting fish and that they’re running through their Ziplock bags. The anglers get to keep the meat and FWC keeps the carcasses for study.

In a press release, FWC indicated these studies are intended to collaborate with anglers to collect data on red snapper and test ways to reduce red snapper discards. Starling said he hopes they’re looking at the fish from his boats and seeing all sizes and ages of red snapper, which would be evidence of a population that’s healthy enough to allow more regular harvest opportunities.

Since 2011, NOAA has managed South Atlantic red snapper under an intense rebuilding plan with extremely limited federal seasons and bag limits. It has worked well, according to the many captains and recreational anglers who say they are seeing more snapper than ever. Continued strict regulations are a source of building frustration. This summer in the Atlantic from North Carolina through Florida, NOAA—through the South Atlantic Marine Fishery Council—allowed recreational anglers just a single day to harvest one snapper per person.

“Like you, FWC is frustrated with the current state of Atlantic red snapper management,” said Jessica McCawley, director of FWC’s Division of Marine Fisheries Management. “We recognize that people are seeing more red snapper than ever on the water. These particular EFPs try to turn discarded fish into landed catch and improve angler satisfaction by testing different management measures.”

How to Get an Exempted Fishing Permit

The trips Team Buck Rogers Charters takes with its clients are part of a program called FWC Study Fleet. FWC selects five charter captains every three months to participate by fishing Atlantic waters off northern Florida. To get in on one of these trips, private recreational anglers must likely be preferred clients of one of the captains selected.

For private recreational charter captains who want to get involved, eligibility details and enrollment information are available at myfwc.com. For instructions on how to apply watch this video.

There are also two programs that allow private recreational anglers to keep a few red snapper. The FWC Hot Spot Fleet program is for private Florida anglers who fish north of the NASA Vehicle Assembly Building at Cape Canaveral. The SE FL Snapper Grouper Fleet program is for private anglers who fish south of that point.

“For years, FWC has heard that anglers want to directly provide data to improve the management of Atlantic red snapper,” said FWC chairman Rodney Barreto. “This is your opportunity to do so. Your participation is not just desired; it’s essential for these studies to be a success and improve management.”

Up to 200 private anglers will be selected for each fleet every three months by lottery. Each selected angler will be randomly assigned to a group, either experimental or control. There are different requirements for anglers fishing the two groups, and experimental group anglers will be allowed to harvest three snapper per day during official fleet trips.

All three fleet programs have three remaining application periods: Oct. 4-14, Jan. 3-13 and April 4-14.To learn more about these programs go to myfwc.com. For instructions on how to apply watch this video.

The post Harvest South Atlantic Red Snapper Now appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Since the term paradox defines a statement or condition likely self-contradictory and contrary to any logic or reason, labeling red snapper management in the South Atlantic as a paradox is on the money. The South Atlantic federal red snapper season this year is one day — July 12, 2024. Clearly, any reasonable person would assume, red snapper are an endangered species to engender such draconian regulations.

Matter of fact, both scientifically via stock assessment data and empirically via captains on the water almost daily, there’s widespread agreement that there are more red snapper in the Atlantic from Florida to the Carolinas than at any time in recent memory.

“They’re everywhere! You can hardly catch anything else!” says longtime sportfishing-industry veteran Dave Workman at Strike-Zone Fishing in Jacksonville, Florida. And they’re spreading. Historically, to catch red snapper, anglers fished roughly 100 to 300 feet of water. Now, as their populations snowball, reds have also moved into shallows, often caught in just 50 feet, and much deeper, even in 600 feet.

Why the Short Red Snapper Season?

So why in the world would the feds have a 1-day season for 2024? Warning: Trying to understand any explanation is not unlike trying to make sense of one’s situation when lost in a house of mirrors.

But, at least as best I can figure it, NOAA Fisheries insists red snapper are “overfished and experiencing overfishing.” Never mind that no one is actually harvesting them. According to fishery managers, the primary culprit is discard mortality from red snapper caught during the year as bycatch by anglers after other species.

That’s hardly unlikely given that red snapper are decidedly aggressive and can show up anywhere in the water column at any time. Since snapper are so widespread, only by closing the ocean to all reef/coastal fishing could they be protected. (Shh! Don’t even say it!) There’s a tendency of snappers brought to the boat to experience barotrauma. And that can make their successful release difficult, although the odds go up considerably for anglers using required descending devices.

Of course, that takes us back to another paradox: If release mortality accounts for decimating the species, how can the South Atlantic be so full of red snapper? Chris Horton, senior director of fisheries policy for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, says if the government’s “stock/recruitment model is correct, this fishery should be collapsing. The numbers just don’t add up.”

Similarly, the numbers for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico were “not adding up” only a few years ago, such as in 2017 when NOAA Fisheries offered red snapper anglers a three-day season for the year. Here, too, the uproar was mighty since the Gulf was absolutely teeming with red snapper.

But the past few years have seen seasons for Gulf snapper get longer and longer. This year, while South Atlantic anglers get one day to catch the super-abundant red snapper, their Gulf of Mexico counterparts will likely enjoy fishing for red snapper for more than 100 days, stretching selectively from June through November.

The difference has little to do with abundance of the fish. Quite simply, a few years back, the feds allowed Gulf states to begin managing the recreational red snapper quota off their shores on their own. In essence, Gulf-state fishery managers, politicians, and anglers had no trouble proving to the feds that its numbers were totally out of whack, and that state management could and would do a much better job of accurately estimating how many red snapper were being landed by anglers, and managing accordingly.

Finally, NOAA Fisheries said in effect, okay, if you can do it better, go ahead. State fish managers did go ahead with their own, more robust yet more nimble systems to collect recreational-landings data. The result showed that anglers could be fishing more days while not exceeding red snapper quotas. At about the same time, an unrelated but independent Great Red Snapper Count showed — guess what? — at least three times the number of snapper swimming in the Gulf versus federal estimates.

Fixing the Red Snapper Season

So therein lies the primary reason for 100-plus days of snapper fishing for Gulf Coast states and a single day of snapper fishing in the South Atlantic. Put simply, it’s state management of federal quotas versus federal management of federal quotas. As you might guess, there’s increasing pressure on Georgia and the Carolinas to take over management. Florida has a head start for its Atlantic coast fishery thanks to its experience managing the state’s Gulf-side snapper.

But, Horton points out, all four South Atlantic coastal states will have to develop their own recreational data collection programs and divide up quotas equitably as was done by Gulf states. And there’s still pushback, with some at the state level citing the cost of taking over management of snapper. But it’s worth it, in the opinion of Horton (and many others): “It’s a great thing to get out from under the constraints of poor federal catch data in favor of more accurate and timely state data-collection programs,” he says.

The post The Great Red Snapper Paradox appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Recreational anglers are applauding progress by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSMFC) to improve the quality and timeliness of recreational fishery dependent data gathered by the Gulf states. With the ongoing turmoil in federal recreational data collection efforts, anglers are optimistic that the states will be in position to break from the federal data system, as other regions have done, and assume management of red snapper and other species in the Gulf of Mexico in the near future.

David Donaldson, executive director of the commission, recently reported to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council that more than $6.6 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding is being applied to:

• Improve state and commission data management systems;
• Develop better methods of quality control;
• Establish GSMFC as centralized warehouse for state fishery dependent data;
• Evaluate ways to validate state-based recreational fishing effort estimates;
• Evaluate ways to improve recreational discard data

Progress at the commission can’t come too soon as it is becoming apparent that the federal management system is struggling to function due to uncertainty in the federal recreational data. Continued cooperation by the Commission and the Gulf states is critical to provide a viable alternative to the current federal system, which is anchored in decades of questionable data, uncertain conversions and outdated management models. It has become almost impossible for fishery management councils to make timely decisions.

In just the last few months, the following developments have highlighted deep-rooted problems in the federal management system bringing trust in that system to the lowest level possible:

Fishing Effort Survey Errors

Last August, NOAA Fisheries announced that errors in its recreational data program — the Marine Recreational Information Program-Fishing Effort Survey (MRIP-FES) — is causing the over-estimation of recreational harvest by up to 40 percent for some species. This error was believed to be caused by the order of questions in the survey; moving them around yielded more accurate results.  Despite that rather small change that led to exceptionally spurious findings, managers will be forced to use the flawed data for management for several years as the system is analyzed. The recreational data program will once again go back to the drawing board — now looking at the third major change since the last reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. This certainly does not instill in recreational anglers any trust in NOAA management.

Red Snapper Numbers Remain Unclear

In January 2024, it was announced that SEDAR 74 — the current Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper Stock Assessment — was unable to produce a viable stock assessment for the most studied species in the Gulf reef fish complex. The stock assessment model contains more than a jaw-dropping 2,900 parameters, each with its own level of uncertainty and bias. Even a casual observer would not expect robust management advice to be produced by such a convoluted process. A new assessment is not expected for at least two years. Moreover, due to the model’s instability, reviewers recommended not including findings from the Great Red Snapper Count (GRSC), a $12 million independent stock assessment of the Gulf red snapper population funded by Congress and conducted by 12 leading marine science institutes and more than 100 of the top scientists around the Gulf and beyond. The GRSC was finalized in 2021 and found a red snapper population at least three times larger than NOAA’s estimates. As it stands, that $12 million effort has been largely ignored by NOAA Fisheries.

Conflicting Gag Grouper Numbers

NOAA Fisheries recently released its initial recreational harvest numbers for Gulf of Mexico gag grouper, which were seven times higher than results generated by the State of Florida Reef Fish Survey (SRFS). The findings included 106,000 pounds of gag grouper harvested from shore based on a single intercept on a bridge. Taken as presented, those findings would indicate the recreational sector is more than four times over its annual catch limit and would necessitate severe management actions, including possible bottom closures. NOAA officials have laid out a plan to go back and determine where these incredible numbers came from and how to deal with them.

What’s the Next Step?

These are just a few of many findings and outcomes of what continually appears to be a flawed system of exceptional reactive vs proactive resource management. These events are part of a crisis management pattern that has undermined the effectiveness of NOAA Fisheries as a viable management entity. Constantly unwinding errors from the past and eliminating unexplainable outliers leaves no room for forward-thinking — only reacting. The fishery management councils and staff are doing the best they can, but the federal agency has painted itself into a corner and the system is staggering under its own weight. Trust is so low that there are reports of private marinas beginning to block NMFS access to their docks. This crisis of confidence in MRIP needs to be addressed by turning the data collection over to the states.

Comparing West Coast to Southeast States

The Gulf Coast states are following a path taken by the West Coast states, which opted out of the federal data system in 2002. This follows a long-held management paradigm that fisheries management is most successfully accomplished at the most local level reasonable. For example, Oregon, Washington and California reached an agreement in which NOAA takes the funding it was using to collect recreational data and gives it to the states, and those states collect their own data and supply it to NOAA Fisheries for management purposes. No calibration, no trying to tie it back to NOAA’s inexplicable MRIP numbers — a clean cut. The West Coast states broke with NOAA due to frustration with the same problems that are plaguing the Southeast. States in the South Atlantic are also currently exploring options after ongoing data debacles in the red snapper, reef fish and Spanish mackerel fisheries, among others.

Recreational data problems in the federal system aren’t going away — they’re getting worse. Fortunately, there is a path forward in the Gulf, and we believe it is time to embrace a cohesive state-based management program that utilizes timely, current data and produces information managers can use today. We must get down to the business of properly managing our fisheries rather than wasting time explaining the mistakes of the past.

About the Author: Ted Venker is the Vice President and Conservation Director of the Coastal Conservation Association.

The post Give Power to the States appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Prized bottomfish such as red snapper, gag grouper and other demersal species are experiencing overfishing. That’s according to state and federal fisheries managers in charge of overseeing fish populations. What that means for recreational anglers in the last decade is often shorter seasons, plus the likelihood of early seasonal closures. As you might imagine, the range of emotions many weekend-warriors experience falls anywhere from anger and frustration, to understanding, all the way to acceptance.

Anglers do not set snapper and grouper size limits and seasons — that’s completely out of our hands. What anglers can control is how they safely release a bottom fish that can’t be kept. Study after study shows that a percentage of bottom fish die after release — whether from gut hooking, barotrauma, or shark depredation.

One very powerful and effective way to release fish experiencing barotrauma is to use a descending device. In fact, have one rigged on a rod, ready to go, whenever bottom fishing. Barotrauma is a pressure-related injury fish experience when reeled up from depth. These dead discards negatively impact the health of fisheries.

Return ‘Em Right — a program dedicated to increasing survival of reef fish — published a Best Release Practices Manual, developed in collaboration with private anglers, captains, scientists and fisheries managers. The number one goal of the manual is to help anglers improve the survival of reef fish that are caught and released.

 “Research shows using best release practices can dramatically increase the survival of reef fish. This manual is yet another tool anglers can add to their tacklebox,” said Dr. Marcus Drymon, Marine Fisheries Specialist, Mississippi State University, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant.

So while anglers might not be able to set fish seasons, or even what bites their line as bycatch, they can be prepared and ready to safely descend fish back down into the depths.  

“The decisions we make on the water can significantly impact the current and future status of our fisheries. There is no single best practice that can be used in every situation, so this manual serves as a guide to help anglers make informed decisions that lead to the greatest chance of survival for each fish they catch and release.” said Captain Dylan Hubbard, owner and operator of Hubbard’s Marina, in Madeira Beach, Florida.

About Return ‘Em Right: The angler-driven program provides training and free release gear to Gulf of Mexico reef fish anglers who are committed to using best release practices and helping the future of the fishery.

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In his satirical novel Catch-22, Joseph Heller perfectly summed up the average angler’s experience in federal fisheries management when he wrote that “just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.” In the case of Snapper Grouper Amendment 46, anglers are certainly justified feeling more than a little paranoid.

On its surface, the effort to address deficiencies in recreational data through the creation of a permit requirement for private recreational vessels makes some sense. Better defining who is fishing offshore can lead to better data on harvest and, just as importantly, on bycatch. No paranoia yet.

One of the most significant limiting factors in the South Atlantic red snapper fishery is the tremendous bycatch mortality that NOAA Fisheries attributes to recreational anglers, even though federal information on recreational discards is probably the poorest-quality dataset in all of federal fisheries management. Which is really saying something.

NOAA calculates that the red snapper anglers catch and discard dead while fishing for other things when the snapper season is closed is enough to consume just about the entire recreational quota, resulting in the recent 2-day open season. Not only that, there is nothing on the horizon to make those seasons any longer – this may be as good as it is going to get, according to NOAA, despite perhaps the largest population of red snapper since management began.

Last year, NOAA Fisheries threatened to implement massive bottom fishing closures to get at the alleged red snapper bycatch problem, but the South Atlantic Council, anglers, state agencies, boating and tackle manufacturers, elected officials, charter operators — basically everyone other than NOAA — utterly rejected that proposal as wild over-reach in the face of a booming red snapper population.

In the midst of this debacle, Amendment 46 outlined a federal permit for offshore anglers to get a better handle on exactly who is fishing offshore and use that information to determine better harvest and bycatch data. On its surface, this proposal makes sense, but it also rings the paranoia alarm bell for two reasons.

For starters, anglers lobbied for a saltwater license and established the Federal Saltwater Registry in the 2006 reauthorization of the Magnuson Stevens Act specifically to improve recreational data and to date that effort has been largely wasted. Coastal states had the option of establishing their own license systems or using the federal registry to determine angler populations. Almost every state established its own saltwater licensing system, so this information already exists although it is not clear how or if NOAA uses it. Tweaking what is already available to identify those who fish offshore should be a relatively simple exercise, so why is an entirely new federal permit necessary?

Second, NOAA Fisheries officials have made several alarming statements in recent years about their desire for “effort rationalization” in the recreational sector. The current leadership of NOAA seems to be of the opinion that, even though they say they have no idea how many anglers are fishing offshore, they are certain it is far too many and therefore that effort needs to be limited by the federal government.

One way to limit recreational effort is to create an offshore permit and forbid those who aren’t fortunate enough to get one from fishing. Make no mistake — there is an incipient groundswell of support inside the agency and across several environmental groups for limiting recreational access as a management tool. Locking you out of your fishery is on the table.

That threat became a bit more tangible after Amendment 46 evolved to include language that the permit would only be used to disseminate fishery information and education materials, and any reference to data collection was removed. The rationale given for removing data collection from the permit was to expedite the process, but without a data component the permit becomes virtually meaningless. Several Council members objected to the change, which created the potential for the amendment to become an unjustified mandate with a wide-open door for its purpose.

NOAA Fisheries has an abysmal record of recreational management and expressing a desire to limit the number of anglers on the water is not a way to engender trust with the recreational community. One way anglers could support the original goal of an offshore permit is to task the states with adapting their own systems — which already exist — to determine the offshore angling universe. Putting the states in charge and ensuring that any such permit is used only for data collection and educational purposes has a much higher likelihood of cooperation and success.

Anglers in the South Atlantic are desperate to find a solution to the chronic crisis of federal fisheries management, yet they are rightly suspicious of NOAA’s intent behind a federal offshore permit. Better data is clearly part of the solution, but it’s a good idea to first make sure they really aren’t out to get us.

About the Author: Ted Venker is the Vice President and Conservation Director of the Coastal Conservation Association.

The post A Permit in Sheep’s Clothing appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Florida Gulf Coast spear fishermen are used to running far offshore to get into the best waters for taking big hauls of bottomfish. So, when carpenter Jacob Felts, 30, and his dive buddies headed out for a long-range overnight bottomfishing trip using hook and lines some 150 miles offshore, it was no big deal.

They were aboard Brian Stone’s 42-foot Freeman catamaran named the “Big Nasty” powered by quad 400-horsepower outboards. And they were up and gone zipping across 1-foot flat seas on Oct. 7 staring at 4 a.m.

They started catching grouper at dawn, boating a big mixed bag of Warsaw, snowies, gags, and other bottomfish, plus a few vermilion snapper or “beeliners” as they’re called by many anglers.

“We fished 10 or 12 different spots, mostly natural bottoms and some spring holes, then moved inshore to about 125 feet of water where ‘beeliners’ are more common,” said Felts, of Adel, Ga. “That’s still 100 miles offshore, a place not many other recreational fishing boats work.

“I really wanted to catch a big beeliner because they’re so darn good to eat, almost like a hog snapper or hogfish.”

Felts hid a 10/0 circle hook in a big squid bait and sent it down about mid-day. Using a Shimano Torium-20 reel spooled with 60-pound monofilament line and an 80-pound fluorocarbon leader, he hooked another good fish that he thought was just a nice grouper – until he got it topside.

“I’d caught some beeliners before at that spot and wasn’t surprised to see the fish, but I couldn’t believe the size,” said Felts. “’Holy cow,’ I told the rest of the crew, ‘this is a heck of a snapper’.”

The anglers took a photo of the fish, put it on ice in a fish box, and kept on catching fish.

“We talked about how big that beeliner was that night, and none of us knew they even grew nearly that big,” Felts recalls.

The following day at the end of the fishing trip, the anglers loaded up their gear and headed to Sea Hag Marina in the nearby coastal town of Steinhatchee. Certified scales were there to officially weigh and measure Felts’ vermilion snapper.

Fortunately for Felts there was an official notary from IGFA who knew exactly what to do with the possible record vermilion snapper. They made plenty of photos and videos of the fish, with proper weighing and measuring.

Felts’ snapper officially weighed 9.26-pounds, with a 28 1/8-inch length and 17 ¾-inch girth.

The current IGFA All-Tackle world record is 7-pounds, 3-ounces, caught in 1987, off Mobile, Ala. by John Doss. Felts’ fish is nearly two pounds heavier.

“If it wasn’t for Kristin Skipper at Sea Hag helping us fill out paperwork and do the right things in weighing, measuring and preserving the fish, this never would have happened,” said Felts. “I’m really grateful to her.”

Felts is submitting all necessary documentation to IGFA, including leader, line and hook, and has talked with the record-keeping agency to make sure everything goes smoothly.

‘I even froze the fish whole, just in case something else is needed to document the catch,” he says. “I’d like to get a reproduction mount, because when everything is accepted by IGFA we’ll thaw it, fillet and eat it.

“My buddies are excited about eating a world record fish.”

The post Likely IGFA All-Tackle World Record Vermilion Snapper Is About to get Eaten appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Researchers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Fish and Wildlife Research Institute are asking for help from anglers, spearfishers, and charter captains to capture information about the Atlantic red snapper fishery.

NOAA Fisheries announced the recreational season will be Aug. 10-12 and Aug. 17-19 in Atlantic federal waters (beyond 3 nautical miles from shore). Anglers and spearfishers are limited to one fish per person, per day, with no minimum size limit.

Each day of the season provides an opportunity for researchers in Florida to collect biological data from harvested red snapper, which can be used to monitor the health of the fishery. FWC biologists will be greeting recreational anglers at boat ramps and marinas along Florida’s east coast to conduct short interviews about their fishing trips. Biologists will also ask for permission to collect biological information from harvested fish.

Charter vessel operators also work cooperatively with FWC researchers during the Atlantic red snapper season by providing details about their fishing trips and allowing biologists to collect samples from harvested fish at the dock.

The survey responses and biological samples submitted by anglers will provide valuable data about the red snapper fishery. The FWC will provide information collected to the Southeast Data, Assessment and Review (SEDAR) for the next red snapper stock assessment.

In 2017, the Atlantic red snapper season was open two weekends in November. FWC shared data collected during the season with federal fishery managers to help them estimate whether the federal quota was caught during the season, which coincided with inclement weather and rough seas in many areas. After reviewing this and other available recreational fisheries data, NOAA Fisheries estimated that an extended season was warranted and reopened harvest for an additional weekend in December.

During surveys conducted in Florida last year, FWRI researchers sampled more than 700 red snapper that were caught recreationally to collect information on the size, weight, age and sex composition.

This year, FWRI researchers will again be asking anglers and charter vessel operators to assist with data collection efforts. This work would not be possible without the collaborative efforts of scientists, anglers, spearfishers, and charter captains working together to collect high-quality data to manage Florida’s fisheries.

For more information about Atlantic red snapper sampling efforts, and the 2017 results, visit MyFWC.com/Research, click on “Saltwater” and select “Recreational Fisheries.” For information on snapper rules and regulations, visit MyFWC.com/Fishing, and click on “Saltwater Fishing,” “Recreational Regulations” and select “Snappers.” If anglers catch a tagged red snapper, FWC researchers ask that they report it to the Angler Tag Return Hotline: 800-367-4461.

The post Florida Will Ask Atlantic Anglers and Captains to Assist With Red Snapper Research during August Season appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

NOAA Fisheries has announced an effort to simplify accessing information from recreational anglers. Being tested in South Atlantic waters during the early November 2017 red snapper mini-seasons, the new pilot program can be accessed from smart phones, allow anglers to record information about their fishing trips.

This comes as welcome news to most anglers, many of whom have pointed to problems with some species being over-protected and others not receiving enough protection date back decades, based on what they say is insufficient or inaccurate data. NOAA hopes this effort will prove a step in the right direction, making it easier for scientists to gain information that could lead to better regulations when it comes to opening and closing of seasons as well as bag limits.

Out of 256 planned fishing trips recorded through the portal after November 14th, 77 percent of those trips were canceled and 23 percent were completed.

MyFishCount.com allows anglers to log in information about their catch as well as schedule or cancel trips ahead of time. Details such as length, catch location, hook type used, hooking location, whether fish kept or released, release method, and reason for release can all be documented in the program.

Current scrutiny of the harvest of certain species could be the driving force for participation amongst recreational anglers and it’s no surprise to anglers that the red snapper is the first fish on the list to test this program. Anglers have been declaring red snapper populations as healthy for some time, but their efforts to make this point with officials had little impact without such hard data.

This attempt in modernizing data collection could provide meaningful collaboration between anglers and officials. Fishery managers giving anglers a more accessible and consistent way to record their catches while out on the water can open the door for improvement in regulations. Getting participation from anglers is only half the battle though; once information is collected, fishery managers will then have to take that information and put it to good use.

“We don’t know at this time exactly how data from this pilot project may be used,” says Chip Collier, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council staff member supervising the pilot program. “Right now, we are learning from fishermen using the program, and with their help we hope to make this type of reporting platform a potential data stream for future use in fisheries management.”

Although anglers would like to see more access to fishing for red snapper, there is always the concern we could over-fish this species again. Read more about those issues and concerns here.

The post Red Snapper Anglers Reporting Catches Directly to NOAA appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

South Atlantic red snapper and red drum are both expected to benefit from a public/private partnership announced this month that will advance current research on fish barotrauma — injury caused by pressure changes — and the use of descending devices to return fish to safe depths.

Selected coastal anglers will participate in the 18-month joint project by using specified release procedures and by responding to followup surveys.

The partnership, which includes Yamaha Marine Group, state fisheries managers from the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida, as well as the FishAmerica Foundation, the American Sportfishing Association and the National Marine Fisheries Service, plans to design and fund the project, which will be conducted through the FishSmart program. FishSmart created a similar survey in 2014 for red snapper in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

While red snapper remain the poster child for release-mortality concerns, anglers have expressed growing angst over releasing redfish caught in deeper waters, where they’re being targeted more frequently. Project managers hope to encourage use of specialized circle-hook rigs and assess the need for descending devices for red drum.

“The recreational community has long been criticized for complaining about the problems in federal fisheries management but then offering no solutions,” says Martin Peters, Yamaha senior manager for government relations. It occurred to us at Yamaha that one of the biggest issues we face in the management of fisheries is insufficient data, which sometimes leads to overzealous management and limited access to the resource.

“One possible solution companies such as Yamaha can offer is to privately fund data-collection projects. We further imagined that if we were able to identify such a project and pledge funding, we might be able to encourage other companies and or NGOs to join us in providing additional funding. That is what has happened.”

While project managers are still hammering out the details and the cost of the snapper/drum project, they have settled on some basic parameters. “We want to build on the original [FishSmart] study and focus it regionally so that the results have more validity for informing the decisions of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and NMFS with regard to managing red snapper in the South Atlantic,” says Spud Woodward, director of the Coastal Resources Division for Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources and a member of the project team.

In fact, the south Atlantic council has been hosting public-comment webinars in August, to gather information on snapper/grouper regulations. Subsequent changes could result in a short 2018 red snapper season in the south Atlantic, where the fishery has been closed to all harvest for four years.

FishSmart’s study suggested that rapidly returning fish to depth is the method of choice for releasing barotrauma-effected fish. Participants received a descending device to use during the trial period. Afterward, 78 percent of survey respondents said they believe descending devices would be very helpful in reducing discard mortality of red snapper.

Woodward expects the new project to begin in either late 2017 or early 2018. Project managers will reach out to the fishing community to identify red snapper and red drum anglers. Red snapper anglers will receive a descending device as well as instruction on its use.

Redfish anglers will receive sample packs of circle hooks and a circle-hook short-leader rig along with instructions on how to build that rig, which has proven effective for reducing deep-hooking in adult red drum.

After a specified time, participating anglers will be asked to evaluate their experiences. If surveys show that barotrauma in red drum is an issue that should be addressed, project managers could opt to enter a second phase of the research and provide descending devices for drum.

“The goal is to promote the application of best practices and appropriate tools to improve the survival of released fish in South Atlantic marine recreational fisheries for red snapper and red drum,” says Andrew Loftus, coordinator of the FishSmart initiative.

Peters adds: “Hopefully, it will lead to improved sustainability and better management of the species. We also hope it will eventually lead to improved access for recreational anglers.”

For more information on the project partners, visit their websites: FishSmart, Yamaha Marine Group.

The post South Atlantic Red Snapper and Redfish Release Project Announced appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced a two-year pilot program for Gulf of Mexico red snapper management, with hopes of combatting the shortening federal seasons for the popular saltwater species. However, the program has received criticism from one sport-fishing advocacy group for its long-term effect and the announcement’s roll out.

Expected to begin in 2018, the program will randomly select 150 offshore anglers for access to 25,000 pounds of Gulf of Mexico red snapper. To participate, the anglers must agree to take part in a mandatory reporting program via smartphones.

The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) spoke out against the program.

“This pilot program is obviously the first step toward creating a harvest tag program for red snapper,” said Mike Leonard, the ASA’s conservation director. “ASA and several other organizations recently completed an extensive project working with anglers and industry members throughout the Gulf region to explore alternative management options for Gulf red snapper, including harvest tags.”

The ASA’s argument is that the math does not add up — and the long-term effect is either less red snapper caught per angler, or fewer red snapper anglers altogether.

“According to NOAA Fisheries, approximately 422,000 private recreational red snapper tags would be available Gulf-wide based on recent data,” Leonard continued. “While no accurate estimate currently exists for the total number of Gulf reef fish anglers, it’s extremely likely that there are more Gulf reef fish anglers than available tags. Therefore, if harvest tags were implemented Gulf-wide, anglers would probably be lucky to receive a single tag for the entire year.”

While the 150 anglers invited to participate would enjoy considerable access to red snapper, Leonard said, implementing the system on a larger scale “would require significantly limiting either the number of tags available per angler or the number of participating anglers. Neither is a positive management outcome.”

The ASA also criticized the rollout of the program’s announcement, which Leonard said in his statement was “secretive” from development to release.

“For a state that hails itself as a ‘Sportsman’s Paradise,’ we would hope the state would work with its recreational fishing community to cooperatively develop legitimate management approaches, and not attempt to force upon anglers a non-viable and controversial management approach that they strongly oppose,” he added.

You can read the complete proposal for the red snapper pilot program here.

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