The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council), at the urging of the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA), has adopted new regulations for Gulf red snapper, which could eliminate the sudden disruptive season closures experienced by recreational anglers and charter boats over the last few years.

The proposed regulations call for an April 15 through October 31 season, a four-fish bag limit, and a sixteen-inch minimum size. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) must still approve the Council proposal; however, NMFS Regional Administrator Dr. William Hogarth voiced strong support for the plan.

"The CCA organization, with CCA Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas, worked together to develop and advocate recreational regulations which keep the four-fish bag limit, maximize the length of season and provide the critically-needed resource protection," said CCA Florida’s Ted Forsgren. "We’re pleased that our recommendations were supported by the Council."

Strong impetus for that set of recreational regulations also came from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC). At its October meeting, the FWCC adopted the same proposal for state waters with intent to enact them as a final rule regardless of the federal regulations. "The Florida Commission’s action was a very strong statement in support of those specific recreational regulations," said Forsgren.

The Gulf red snapper fishery is becoming much more important to Florida west coast anglers as the snapper population recovers. Severe overfishing had caused the Gulf populations to shrink dramatically in both abundance and range, virtually disappearing from the Big Bend and central west coast of Florida. However, the strict commercial and recreational catch regulations and the mandated installation of by-catch reduction devices (BRDs) in shrimp trawls are stimulating a recovery.

"Florida anglers have been regularly catching red snapper again offshore of Crystal River and Tampa Bay," said Ted Forsgren. "In fact, the NMFS landings data indicate that in 1998, for the first time in 10 years, Florida’s saltwater anglers landed more red snapper than any other Gulf state."

The Council also voted to establish the total allowable catch (TAC) of Gulf red snapper at 9.12 million pounds. Previously established regulations allocate 51% of the TAC to commercial fishers and 49% to recreational. The commercial fishery is under a limited entry program and the majority of the 51% allocation goes to only 132 commercial fishers.

"We strongly believe that the allocation issue needs to be readdressed -- 132 commercial interests shouldn’t be given more than thousands of charter boats and many thousands of recreational anglers," said Forsgren. "But that issue was not on the table at this meeting, it will need to be addressed in the future."

The Council’s proposed commercial regulations establish a 4.65 million pound quota, with a spring season opening February 1 for the first ten days of each month until two-thirds of the quota is taken, then a fall season opening October 1 for the first ten days of each month until the remaining quota is taken. The commercial minimum size would remain 15 inches.

"We have a major problem with the commercial size limit being one inch smaller than the 16-inch recreational minimum because it provides the commercial fishers first access to the fish," said Forsgren. "However, the commercial interests opposed an increase to 16 inches, and reducing the recreational limit to 15 inches would have shortened the recreational season by about 45 days. This is another issue that will have to be addressed again."

Although the Council action will control the take of the directed commercial and recreational fisheries, the serious and damaging impacts of shrimp trawl by-kill of juvenile red snapper continue to be a major problem. Scientists have estimated that shrimp trawls annually killed 82% of the juvenile red snapper before the use of BRDs. Gulf shrimping interests, led by the Texas Shrimp Association (TSA), have continually opposed and filed lawsuits against requirements to install BRDs in trawl nets to reduce the killing of juvenile red snapper.

In its most recent lawsuit, the TSA claimed that the BRDs requirement "unfairly burdens the shrimp industry, while inequitably benefiting recreational fishers." TSA argued that the same resource protection goals could be achieved by placing even more restrictions on recreational anglers. CCA, Florida Wildlife Federation and Earthjustice intervened in the lawsuit in support of the NMFS red snapper and BRDs regulations. CCA was the only group, representing saltwater anglers, to urge the court to uphold the use of BRDs, arguing that without them the red snapper fishery cannot recover.

On November 3, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle ruled strongly against the Texas Shrimp Association. In his decision, he noted that "the directed red snapper fishery (i.e. commercial and recreational fishers) has, for several years, been subject to numerous restrictions," whereas, "the shrimp industry has been, until recently, required to do very little in terms of by-catch reduction of red snapper." Judge Hinkle further ruled that imposing "some type of by-catch reduction plan on the shrimp industry is therefore, not only within the discretion of the agency, but perhaps required."

"Judge Hinkle’s ruling is a major victory for fisheries conservation and for controlling the by-kill damage from shrimp trawls," said CCA attorney Bob Hayes.

Roy Williams, representing the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, highlighted the problem created by the shrimp industry’s unwillingness to address trawl by-kill. He said, "The main reason for all of these very strict regulations on the directed commercial and recreational fishers is the inability to achieve the 50% by-kill reduction goal in the shrimping industry."

In conclusion, Forsgren stated, "We hope that strong support already shown by NMFS will lead them to quickly approve and implement these new red snapper regulations and eliminate the confusion and disruption of sudden recreational season closures. Then the primary focus should shift to the commercial shrimping industry to reduce their tremendous adverse impacts on juvenile red snapper. They are a major part of the problem; they should contribute to the solution."