Federal Fisheries (mis)Management

The number of endangered red snapper I caught this weekend was only exceeded by the number that were cut in half by the also endangered shark population. Give the Feds credit, they gave us 6 extra days to compensate us for the loss of closer to 20 days that the entire middle GOM coast was blown out. Seems fair.

Also spent a lot of time over cocktails with two of the more prominent charter captains. Interesting tidbits. When the Louisiana coastal boundary extends, it will be nearly impossible to enforce the Federal red snapper regulations in Federal waters. Not like intercepting boats coming in through a pass, and Louisiana will likely authorize a year around snapper season. So...I'm coming in in October, how will agents know if I caught my snapper in state or Federal waters? Also somehow missed the season being closed on trigger fish, but one captain I talked to really believes they ARE stressed. Also said that the limit on mangroves needs to be reduced, say cut in half, or they may go the same way, given how many people target them. They are already harder to catch than they were a few years ago, whether that is a natural cycle or pressure or a combination of both, is unknown.

Oh yeah, and I would be remiss if I didn't point out that a certain well-known OB poster was squatting on my honey hole Saturday when I got there. Thankfully, he limited out and was gone pretty quickly.