http://www.louisianasportsman.com/lp...7#.URqGEKWClpB

FYI

Saw that the other day somewhere else... And they say the fisheries are based on science. What a joke

So now they are saying that LA and TX may not have any red snapper season in fed waters??

Yep that's what I sounds like. As Dub would say...THEY MAD!!!

We will be penalized with no federal season because we don't want to follow their ridiculous rules

Government on Red Snapper regs

"The emergency measure gives the NMFS the power to close the red snapper season in federal water off state water where state marine resources officials have chosen not to follow federal regulations."

I don't really follow what the heck this means, the NMFS can close the federal waters off the Louisiana coast? They can do that anyways right? That is FEDERAL waters, what am I missing here? They can do this to compliant states like Alabama also I would think. Now that there are a few non-compliant states, they have to include the language to include even the non-compliant states.

Maybe there really is a decline in red snapper populations, I don't know. Not sure where the data is for this species, but I know that in Louisiana we are spoiled with incredible fishing for these fish mainly due to are oil platforms. You can dive down and see them by the thousands.This isn't the case all over the gulf of Mexico, there are probably places even in Louisiana in 50' - 400' of water where there isn't a snapper for miles due to zero structure. These fish rely on structure, and Louisiana has lots of artificial structure. These fish are also very long-lived fish and take a long time to get to reproductive age. These are the type of fish that can get fished out. The commercial fishermen get their quota and the recreational fishermen get their quota. This sucks because Louisiana is such a fish rich place that we haven't had to worry about strict fishing quotas. It is coming though. First red snapper, now tuna, whats next? I have nothing against commercial fishermen, I think that a person should be able to go to a restaurant and eat a red snapper. Luckily for us, at those same rigs there are plenty of mangroves, grouper, triggerfish, cobia, and amberjack to take up the slack. To me the simplest solution is to have a per person limit but no size limit. The first fish you catch, you have to keep that fish whether its 12" long or 25 lbs. This would eliminate lots of undersized fish getting caught and thrown back just to die.


As usual on louisiana sportsman, someone had to throw in some CCA bashing in there also:rotfl:

When someone dives down next to a platform with an underwater video camera to make an argument for how many red snapper there are, that can be a little misleading as to the whole population. That just shows one little area and not the whole picture. One could do the same by showing all the redfish behind Grand Bayou Weir and say that this is what the entire redfishery looks like. Just a thought

That's why Louisiana was pushing for regonal seasons. There are more in the northern gulf the the rest. It's a proven fact.


BROWN FIN

I am not arguing, it just may be that the fact is that there are more oil platforms in our region than in other regions and snapper like to be around the platforms. I just wonder about the 'facts' that there are more snapper here if all they are surveying/sampling is around oil rigs. The sampling should be performed near natural features. If you were wanting to sample for redfish in SW Louisiana you would not want to sample behind Grand Bayou weir because it would not show a representative sample of the entire area. It would overinflate the population sample.

Not trying to argue. The northern gulf does have oil rigs as well as natural limestone formations as in the Calcasieu Rock, Candy Mtn and Lost John to name a few as well as countless other rock formations. The NMFS and GOMFMC refuse to survey rigs and reefs. They pick x amount of square miles and survey that. In 2012 they surveyed 10 square miles south of central Tx. They base there snapper counts for the entire gulf by surveying pretty much a desert south of TX and west of South Florida.


BROWN FIN

Gotcha;) Who is 'they' and can you find a link to the data

Gulf Of Mexico Fisheries Management Council and NOAA Fisheries Management Council. Data can be found on their web sites. Most of the data has been pulled off the web the day after Louisiana became non-compliment. Only part of the data links are still up. I wish I had printed it out.


BROWN FIN

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact....iWiumbP-zxuHoJ


BROWN FIN