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Ruling Would Tighten Gag Limits

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By FRANK SARGEANT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 18, 2008

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is moving toward cutting harvest of reef fish yet again, with recent preliminary approval of a ruling that would drop the overall Gulf grouper limit to four fish, only two of which could be gags. Two red grouper also would be allowed in the new limits, rather than the one currently permitted, and the season would be closed Feb. 1 to March 31 during the prime spawning season offshore.

The council also moved to create added marine reserves in the Gulf, putting more spawning areas off limits to anglers. An area known as The Edges, at the 40-fathom contour, will be off limits January through April when the rule is finalized. Gags are known to gather in large numbers along the edge of the continental shelf, which is roughly along the 40-fathom line, during the spawning period, and biologists say too many of the adult males are being harvested to assure continued abundance of the species.

Angler observations seem to belie the estimate that gag numbers are in trouble, with many anglers reporting catches of up to 50 per trip. However, most of these fish are undersized, and it may well be that as soon as a fish reaches keeper size, it is harvested rather than continuing to mature to become one of the offshore spawners.

Just as importantly, biologists point out, the great numbers of gags that are released but do not survive have an impact on the overall population. When fish are cranked rapidly from the depths, air inside the body cavity expands and forces the stomach out the mouth. If the air is not released from the abdomen, the fish can't return to bottom and becomes prey to sharks and other predators.

Biologists say that in depths of less than 40 meters (around 130 feet), most fish that are deflated survive, though there's an estimated 10 percent mortality at this depth among recreationally caught fish.

Commercial fishermen, on the other hand, typically fish deeper water where survival after rapid decompression is less likely. Researchers have observed an immediate 20 percent mortality at depths beyond 40 meters, and project an added 25 percent because of injuries during capture. However, this is somewhat offset offshore because there are fewer undersized fish that have to be released.

Regulators also have pointed out that fishermen are much better at finding reef fish today than they were 20 years ago, thanks to far better electronics. With GPS and high-tech sonar to guide them, anglers are discovering fish that would have been passed over and remained as a stock reservoir in years past, council observers say. Some estimated that the "catchability" of reef fish might be increasing at a rate as high as 2 percent a year, thanks to improved technology and fishing knowledge.

However, some anglers have pointed out that there has been a dramatic decline in fishing pressure because of high fuel prices. Since many offshore boats get only about 1 to 2 miles per gallon, making a trip 50 to 60 miles offshore becomes a significant financial undertaking these days, and many fishermen are simply staying tied to the docks.

In any case, council members are hopeful the changes in harvest rules will cut the gag harvest about 25 percent from current levels. Though the rules apply throughout the Gulf of Mexico, by far the majority of gags are caught in Florida waters, most off the central west coast.

To learn more about the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council rulings, visit www.gulfcouncil.org.

SHRIMP TALK: The summer shrimp run is on in lower Tampa Bay. For those who have not tasted wild shrimp in a few years, it is so superior in flavor to pond-raised shrimp that you'd think it were another creature all together.

The shrimp that show up on the flats at night tend to be huge, with the tail alone sometimes approaching 6 inches long. They can be caught in the grassy shallows with light and dip net, but they also be caught from area piers and bridges - anywhere there is a strong light on the water, the crustaceans are likely to flow through by the hundreds with the outgoing evening tides.

The north side of the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Pier has become a hot spot the last few years, with dozens of anglers manning the rails with long-handled nets designed to scoop up the shrimp. The bag limit is five gallons of whole shrimp per boat, or five gallons per person ashore. There is no size limit - visit www.myfwc.com for details.

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