Reasons to Keep Every Gafftop You Catch

[MathGeek]

Originally Posted by Renegade

Why not?

If the gafftops are causing a problem, wouldn't the hardheads be causing the same problem? Shouldn't they be ... kept ... or dispatched ... too?

Hardheads are not nearly as efficient piscivores as gafftops. Their mouths are too small, they are slower, and are smaller. All taken together, this means they can't eat fish nearly as large as gafftops can. A 6-8" croaker, pogie, or mullet is nothing for a 5 lb gafftop.

Undoubtedly, hardheads will have some level of competition with specks and reds, but I'd guess it is under 20% rather than over 50%. Sure, dispatch them to remove the nuisance, but taking out 1 5 lb gafftop probably helps reds and specks a lot more than taking out five 1 lb hardheads.