DESTIN — Local fishermen are not ready to draw lines in the Gulf of Mexico to help manage red snapper.
“Not now” was the sentiment from most of the 104 fishermen who attended a Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (FMC) scoping meeting last week at the Destin Community Center.
The purpose was to discuss Reef Fish Amendment 39 — Regional Management of Recreational Red Snapper. The two-and-a-half hour meeting, which was called to report and take comments, was one of about a half-dozen held along the Gulf Coast in the last few weeks.
Ryan Rindone with the FMC presented information on how regional management of red snapper would look in the Gulf.
“Regional management would encourage more flexibility in how the recreational quota is managed, and it would enable areas of the Gulf to propose management measures tailored to specific regions,” according to the scoping guide. “However, red snapper would remain a federally managed species and federal conservation goals and annual quotas would apply.”
There also was discussion about how the regions would be divided from Texas to Florida. They could be divided into an east and west region; an east, central and west region; or a region for each state. After the regions are decided, the council would allocate the red snapper quota among them.
Destin boat Capt. Scott Robson of the Phoenix asked about the advantages of regional management.
“If we all suffer when one goes over, what’s the advantage? No matter who overfishes, everybody still pays the penalty. Why go through all this process?
“That fish sees no boundary. ... I don’t know how you can do it,” Robson said.
Pam Anderson of Captain Anderson’s Marina was concerned that in a regional approach another state could exceed its quota and close down everyone.
“If our state steps up and gives better data … why not let Florida take the ball and run for it?” Anderson said.
Capt. Jim Green of the New Florida Girl’s American Spirit addressed the part of Amendment 30B that keeps federally permitted boats from fishing in state waters.
“If you’re going to give us a region, remove all that unneeded stuff,” Green said. “The way we’re going now … we’re just sinking.”
Green said if the Gulf is divided into regions, there needs to be a clean break. “Give us a total number of fish,” he said.
The dates for the 2013 recreational red snapper season in state and federal waters have not been set. The FMC is developing options for the upcoming year for federal waters, which will be examined at its next meeting Feb. 5-8 in Mobile, Ala.
Last year the season ran from June 1 to July 10, but gained six days because of bad weather in June. This year there is talk of a 27-day season running from June 1-27, with a two-fish bag limit, according to Pam Dana of the Gulf Council. However, the stock assessment for the red snapper will be finished in June, so the season could be extended.
Rindone said that if the stock assessment finds the numbers are up and snapper are starting to rebuild, the National Marine Fisheries Service can open or close a fishery.
“We hope the stock assessment will add to the” total allowable catch, Dana said. “Let’s wait and see.”
Destin’s Capt. Brant Kelly of the Relentless wanted to know who was pushing the project. Dana said the Louisiana delegation has brought it to the council.
“It’s just another layer of bureaucracy,” Kelly said.
Destin’s Capt. George Eller of the Checkmate 2 said there was some merit to regional management, “but at this time there are too many questions. It needs to be tabled until the assessment comes out. It’s not your fault; it just hasn’t progressed far enough along yet.”
Destin Log Staff Writer Tina Harbuck can be reached at 850-654-8440 or tharbuck@thedestinlog.com. Follow her on Twitter @DestinLogTina.