NEWS

Hope on horizon for red snapper

Descender device could help growth fish population

Christopher Hong
chong@jacksonville.com
Times-Union staff writer Christopher Hong (right) fished offshore with William Goodling, Ron May and Stephen Swann (left to right) during this year's red snapper season, just the fifth time anglers have been allowed to keep the heavily protected fish since 2010. [Provided by Terry Lee]

As of midnight Monday, the books are closed on this year’s red snapper season. For the local fishing community, the last two weekends have been nothing short of a bona fide holiday, a cross between Christmas and Festivus.

The six-day season was just the fifth time this decade that anglers on the southern Atlantic coast had the chance to keep red snapper. Like giddy kids on Christmas morning, anglers woke well before sunrise to catch the hard-fighting, fine-eating fish.

And the traditional Festivus airing of grievances described by Seinfeld’s Frank Constanza? There’s never a shortage of griping about the federal government’s strict regulations on red snapper.

A few weeks ago, I pulled off what will likely be the crown achievement of my career: I convinced my editor that the newspaper needed a first-person account of the snapper season.

With the ball in my court, I scrambled to find a story angle that would justify taking a half-day from work to go fishing.

So I made a call to Chester Brewer, a member of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, which sets fishing regulations in federal waters. Brewer, an avid fishermen, is the council’s representative for recreational anglers.

We talked about the the current state of red snapper. He told me biologists have little faith in their red snapper data, and that there’s a growing belief on the council that there are more fish than the data shows — a sentiment long expressed by frustrated anglers.

Without new data showing a stronger population, the council is unable to do anything.

He then told me why he thinks this year’s season could open the door for longer seasons in the near future, and that it would only cost anglers about $40 and a few minutes of their time.

• • •

While it’s impossible to count every fish living and caught in the ocean, the fishery council is required to make regulations based on the best guesses from biologists at the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Since 2010, the federal agency has considered red snapper to be overfished and has protected them under a strict rebuilding plan. There have been open seasons during five of the years since, for a total of 22 fishing days.

Of course, many anglers think the federal government has it completely wrong on red snapper. How are they overfished, they ask, if they often catch more red snapper than any other species, including those with looser restrictions?

Although anglers have been prohibited from keeping red snapper since 2010, biologists estimate that nearly half of all snapper caught die shortly after they are released. That estimate is mostly attributed to the internal injuries fish suffer when they are quickly reeled from deep water, just like ‘the bends’ that can grip scuba divers.

Biologists believe fish stand a strong chance to survive those injuries if they quickly return to deeper waters. But fish suffering from barotrauma are filled with gas, and the laws of buoyancy prevent them from swimming to deep water on their own.

There is a simple tool to overcome this problem.

It’s called a descending device. There are different versions, but they all are essentially a clamp and heavy weight attached on a line. The angler attaches the clamp to the mouth of the fish and drops the weighted line to a desired depth, where the fish frees itself and swims away. They cost between $40 to $80.

Brewer said anglers could make a strong case that the red snapper population is strong enough to withstand longer seasons by doing two things: Report the number of fish they are catching, and use a descending device.

If anglers report catching high numbers of red snapper, it would suggest the population is healthy. By reporting using a descending device, it would allow biologists to estimate a lower number of fish dying after they are released.

If more fish survive after being released, biologists could allow anglers to keep more fish, which could result in a longer season.

That may sound like a simple idea, but Brewer admitted that it would be a tough sell to skeptical anglers.

“There is a feeling out there amongst a number of people, because they’ve been screwed over so many times by what they see as incorrect data, that they’re afraid if they give data to the feds, it will be used against them,” he said.

But he added: “What people don’t realize is there is an inverse relationship. If you’re catching fish, that’s a good thing. That means there are more fish in the water.”

Holly Binns, who directs a campaign to end overfishing run by an arm of the Pew Charitable Trusts, said the number of red snapper that die after being released is the biggest reason biologists have determined red snapper are being overfished.

And like Brewer, she sees promise in descending devices.

“We'd all rather see those fish (that are dying) being fish that could be caught and kept,” she said.

Because Pew’s overfishing campaign supports the rebuilding plan, the organization has been maligned by some fishermen as enemies of the sport.

In reality, Binns said most of the campaign’s staff are avid divers and anglers.

“Everybody spends a bunch of time on the water. That’s why they do this kind of work,” she said.

When I told her I would be fishing for red snapper, she asked if I owned a descending device. I told her I didn’t, and she then offered to let me borrow one that her organization lends to anglers.

Less than 24 hours later, a device was delivered to my house.

Now all that I had to do was catch some red snapper.

On Friday, I fished alone. I managed to beat the crowd at the Mayport boat ramp, but as I pulled away from the dock in the lowlight of dawn, I could see a line of trucks and quickly filling parking lot.

The sporty seas made for a long trip, but I was still one of the first to arrive at the artificial reef about 10 miles offshore.

The bite was pretty slow, and I was soon surrounded by boats. But I eventually got the bite I was waiting for and had my one-fish limit on ice.

Now I needed to catch a few to test the descending device.

The device, made by SeaQualizer, is pressure sensitive and can be set to release fish at a different depths.

I set mine to release in 50 feet and attached it to a downrigger. I caught two more fish, and the device worked seamlessly. I plan to buy one for future trips.

On Saturday, I made a quick trip to the same spot with my fiance, Kristin, and brought another fish home.

On Sunday, I fished with Stephen Swann, a member of the city’s Waterways Commission. Swann graciously invited me to join his fishing crew that day, comprised of William “Willy” Goodling, Ron “Ronnie” May, and Terry “Terry Lee” Lee.

Never have I encountered a nastier group of lawless fishermen.

I’m of course kidding. The guys, who have been fishing together for decades and know a thing or two about it, were great hosts.

Swann told me you needed thick skin to fish on the boat. It didn’t take long for me to learn why — and for Swann to learn why journalists are regarded as enemies of the people — after I broke one of his rods fighting a shark about as big as me. The rod was less than a week old, so it was covered under warranty.

The snapper bite wasn’t as hot as the day before. With a little work, we managed to get our five-man limit of fish, plus a few extras that were released with Swann’s descending device.

Three straight days of fishing, fighting the crowds and sleep deprivation were enough for me, and as of the writing of this story, I have no plans to head offshore during second weekend of the season.

I checked in with Swann Friday. He has his new rod. He didn’t fish that day — he had to work — but the rest of his crew managed to sneak away to the same spot we fished the week before.

They were back at the dock by 11:30 a.m. with a four-man limit of fish.

I guess that's just fishing.