Anglers will have a few days to catch red snapper in federal waters off Georgia’s coast this year, but that probably won’t do much to relieve anger at federal regulators. The season’s dates are not set yet, but it will be a rare event.
Since 2010, anglers in the Atlantic Ocean off the southern states have had just 17 total days to legally catch red snapper. In five years, there has been no open season for the popular game fish. Spud Woodward, head of the Coastal Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said it is easy to sympathize with the anglers, and he warned of the economic impact of over-regulating the fishery. He insists that sport anglers do not want to fish any species to extinction. On the other hand, he said the current rules often don’t help the fish populations.
Those who manage, and regulate, the waters survey anglers to gather what they hope is an accurate measure of the harvest. That is then used to establish the length of the season for the following year. Even when the recreational harvest Is zero in one year, regulators will not set a season for the following year in many cases. Fish that are killed, but not harvested, are a main factor in that.
When a fish is hooked at a depth of 100 feet or greater, the fish can suffer trauma by being brought to the surface. That fish must be released by regulations, even though it clearly will not survive being returned to the ocean. In that case, the angler does not keep to keep the fish, but knows the fish will not return to the depths to reproduce and fight another day. Woodward said that is called the discard death rate. “In many years, that exceeds the allowable catch rate,” he said.
On Monday, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, the regulatory board for the waters off Georgia, voted to allow a limited snapper season. The recreational season is expected to last less than 12 days, and anglers will be allowed only a single fish per day. The group also approved an even shorter season, less than a week, for next year.
Woodward said the snapper populations in waters off Georgia is increasing. He said he usually sees many of the fish on dives to inspect manmade fishing reefs off the coast.
While the anglers fume, many who make a living support the sport are seeing bank accounts shrink. Woodward said it is difficult to count the dollars lost to the regulations, but he noted that saltwater recreational fishing is a $500 million business in Georgia. Some people will simply target other fish, but some anglers will not come at all. Charter trips to inshore or nearshore waters often use smaller boats, with smaller crews, than those going further offshore. That also reduces the economic impact, Woodward said.
“It is a big business,” he said. “I would just say some people have lost confidence in their ability to make a living.”
