Mr. Mike

http://www.gulfcouncil.org/docs/2010%20Gulf%20of%20Mexico%20Red%20Snapper%20Season .pdf

http://myfwc.com/docs/RulesRegulations/Saltwater_SnapperPublicComment.pdf

lobsterman

That is a joke also. They know that the average fisherman in a small boat has very few if any days to get out after September. The water gets rough in the fall.

Eastern Tackle

"Oil Spill and subsequent federal fishing area closure may have resulted in reduced effort, possibly leaving the recreational red snapper quota unfilled."

They don't have a clue how many fish there are or in this case by their own admission, how many have been caught.

Pass Time

I for one believe that if they can carry over an "overfished" declaration to the next year and shorten a season then they should have to "add to" our seasons quota next year if it has not been met this year. However , this would force them to show how flawed their calculation methods are. If we are told that we caught 2.6 million pounds over in a short season last year I'll bet that they will calculate that our quota was in fact caught this short and mostly closed season.

James Fink

Unfortunatley, I dont think the Magnuson-stevens act is written that way. They cant "add" to the next year for reduced efforts or something like that. In other words they can take...but not give. Kinda sucks BUT I dont think it was designed for an oil spill.

Floppy

Based on the language, the only way I can tell that they (Fisheries) assess quotas, is based on commercial activity, is that correct? I have never been asked, nor filled out any card, nor provided anyone any information about what I have caught. So, we, the recreational fishermen(women) are dictated by the commercial catch? I don't get that nor do I agree with it. Seems like to me they (Feds) make a lot of their deciosions based on assumptions......................someone clarify this for me please!

Nopierpressure

You and Eastern Tackle hit it on the head!! THEY DON'T HAVE A CLUE!!

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neuby

The main issue is the stock assessments for red snapper only look at natural bottom reefs- the wrecks that hold the masses of snapper are never assessed.

As far as recreational catches are concerned, they use telephone surveys to try and determine an estimate the number of trips in a given time frame per angler. They also sample catches by sending rendom field teams to points of entry (boat ramps, piers, marina, etc.). When doing this supposedly they have some way to know if the people they interview at the ramp were surveyed by telephone to determine the ratio of telephoned participants to total anglers. They then multiply this times the average catch per trip date to determine the total catch. The link below proabbly explains it better than i did.

Recreational Fisheries Statistics - Overview

While this seems to be a long shot in getting any type of accurate estimate it is probably better than trying to derive it from commercial landings. The biggest issue I have is how they determine the divisor (# of telephoned participants that are sampled). If all they do is ask if they had participated in a telephone survey sometime in the last X months, this # would very likely be underreported (small) and skew the sample data pretty drastically resulting in overstating the total catch estimates.

ammo angler

At least the Destin Rodeo will bebefit from a fall season.

Rich
26 Hydra Sport

Redfish

We Have been saying that for Years!!!!!!!!!!!