NMMA calls for action on limited South Atlantic snapper season
NOAA Fisheries is considering new regulations that would open the door for a 2018 limited season for red snapper in the South Atlantic.
Called Amendment 43, it would allow recreational anglers to harvest one red snapper per person per day. Fishing would be allowed on weekends only and the season start and end dates would be announced if the amendment is approved.
The South Atlantic red snapper stock has increased in abundance over the last several years at an even faster rate than predicted. All signs point to a quickly rebuilding fishery. By allowing a limited season, the amendment will reduce the socio-economic hardships experienced by fishermen and fishing communities while continuing to rebuild the fishery. It would also provide much needed harvest and discard data for stock assessments.
The NMMA asks that supporters tell NOAA that you support Amendment 43 and a limited 2018 red snapper season in the South Atlantic through an online portal.
I support Amendment 43.
They say the snapper bite before the grouper get to the bait. Dove my old spots up to 120′ and dropped camera on 150′ spots the grouper are gone from these areas. Scamps, gags, reds, kitty Mitchell, Warsaw all gone. Displaced by red snapper. Many of these were grouper spawning sites. Have to fish 180′ plus to find the big grouper now. NMFS says these fish feed at different trophic levels. When I cut them open they both have usually unidentifiable fish and crab remains. The ecosystem has a natural balance and when one species is overprotected you get unforeseen consequences. One of these is parasitic infection. Around 20 percent of the snapper we catch have visible external parasites and have seen fish with deformed heads indicating that many weak fish are surviving and spawning. The science is flawed; sitting behind a computer doesn’t swim. You have to get on and in the water and see what’s changed at specific sites over decades. Scientists use a specific data set that comes from Mickey Mouse Land and make hypotheses that they can’t admit are wrong because that would invalidate their jobs and grant money. They are using Red Snapper as a poster child showing how smart they are at rebuilding fish stocks. In reality, they have been slowly indoctrinating fisherman into accepting limited or closed seasons and reduced catches. Have watched as one fishery after another is destroyed due to poor management and then closed or severely regulated and never allowed to be fished at sustainable levels again.
i agree 100 %