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FISHUNT7 · 01-16-2010, 12:07 AM

I spoke at lengthwith an Alabama Fish and Game official yesterday. He has some contact with Dr. Bob Shipp and a couple of other Feds. He has had some information and opinionsrelayed to him and was open to sharing the information.I asked him a bunch ofquestion and he gave me his opinion or interpretation of what he has heard. Anything involving a law, hestated whatthe law said. Here are some things I asked that I have seen other people post on here about.

Q: 2010 Snapper regs? A: He thinks they are leaning towards keeping the 2 fish limit and going to a 150 day season instead of 75 days like '09. His feeling is that the season will run from June 1 until October 31.

Q: Why not a May-September season? A: April and May get into the reproduction months. June is also a month they would like to take out but the tourism industry dictates that the season starts when school gets out. A large amount of the good reproducing fish are caught in June and that only takes away from future stock. They don't like to see big snapper tournaments in June but there is nothing they can do about it. They would rather see big tournaments held latter in the year.

Q: Why not set an upper limit on Snapper like 23" or 24" if the big sows are so important? A: The eggs from a 12-15 lb fish aremore viablethan ones from a 22-25 lb fish. Taking the really big sows does not hurt the fishery as long as there are plenty offish in the 12-15 lb range.

Q: If a Floridaresident catches fish in federal water but comes back through Orange Beach because of weather, will they get a ticket? A: If the weather is bad enoughto forceFlorida residents to go through Perdido Pass,Fish and Gameprobably will not be checking fish. If they check you, then the weather was most likely not bad enough to go through Alabama, and you can get a ticket. (It sounded pretty simple when he explained it like that)

Q: If the fish were caught in Federal water, what does it matter? A: Up until a few years ago, it didn't. But everybody started using the excuse "I caught these fish in federal waters"to get out of buying a fishing license. The state was losing a lot of money. They eventually changed it to a "possession" license. If you have fish in your possession in Alabama, you better have a license. He said Florida is the same.Alabama residentsget tickets for cutting the corner 9 miles out in the Gulf. If they go straight from the Nipple or the Oriskany to Orange Beach, they run the risk of getting a ticket 9 miles out in the Gulf when they cross into Florida waters.

Like I said before,the snapper regs arejust what he feels will happen. He does not have a vote in what will happen but he has talked topeople that do. He thinks we will here something latter than sooner because there is a lot of information they are discussing. They are also getting pressed hard by the charter boat industry to split them from the recreationalquota so that is delaying things also.

01-16-2010, 12:07 AM	#1
FISHUNT7 Senior Member Mingo Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Malbis, AL Posts: 150	2010 Snapper regulations and other info I spoke at lengthwith an Alabama Fish and Game official yesterday. He has some contact with Dr. Bob Shipp and a couple of other Feds. He has had some information and opinionsrelayed to him and was open to sharing the information.I asked him a bunch ofquestion and he gave me his opinion or interpretation of what he has heard. Anything involving a law, hestated whatthe law said. Here are some things I asked that I have seen other people post on here about. Q: 2010 Snapper regs? A: He thinks they are leaning towards keeping the 2 fish limit and going to a 150 day season instead of 75 days like '09. His feeling is that the season will run from June 1 until October 31. Q: Why not a May-September season? A: April and May get into the reproduction months. June is also a month they would like to take out but the tourism industry dictates that the season starts when school gets out. A large amount of the good reproducing fish are caught in June and that only takes away from future stock. They don't like to see big snapper tournaments in June but there is nothing they can do about it. They would rather see big tournaments held latter in the year. Q: Why not set an upper limit on Snapper like 23" or 24" if the big sows are so important? A: The eggs from a 12-15 lb fish aremore viablethan ones from a 22-25 lb fish. Taking the really big sows does not hurt the fishery as long as there are plenty offish in the 12-15 lb range. Q: If a Floridaresident catches fish in federal water but comes back through Orange Beach because of weather, will they get a ticket? A: If the weather is bad enoughto forceFlorida residents to go through Perdido Pass,Fish and Gameprobably will not be checking fish. If they check you, then the weather was most likely not bad enough to go through Alabama, and you can get a ticket. (It sounded pretty simple when he explained it like that) Q: If the fish were caught in Federal water, what does it matter? A: Up until a few years ago, it didn't. But everybody started using the excuse "I caught these fish in federal waters"to get out of buying a fishing license. The state was losing a lot of money. They eventually changed it to a "possession" license. If you have fish in your possession in Alabama, you better have a license. He said Florida is the same.Alabama residentsget tickets for cutting the corner 9 miles out in the Gulf. If they go straight from the Nipple or the Oriskany to Orange Beach, they run the risk of getting a ticket 9 miles out in the Gulf when they cross into Florida waters. Like I said before,the snapper regs arejust what he feels will happen. He does not have a vote in what will happen but he has talked topeople that do. He thinks we will here something latter than sooner because there is a lot of information they are discussing. They are also getting pressed hard by the charter boat industry to split them from the recreationalquota so that is delaying things also.