Whether it's a grilled juicy filet that entices you or the fish and chips down at the local crab shack, the delicious taste of red snapper is on its way back to the menu. For the first time in two and a half years, anglers in coastal communities between North Carolina and Florida will finally get their chance at reeling in this colorful fish. The temporary moratorium on fishing is believed to have benefited the species enough to begin the rebuilding process towards a sustainable future, given that the stricter fishing regulations are met. The recreational fishing season, which began on June 1st and continues through July 10th, allows individuals to keep one red snapper with no size restrictions. The commercial fishery will be open until the catch quota of 8.08 million pounds is met and will be evaluated every seven days so not to exceed the limit.
The red snapper is native to the western Atlantic Ocean and ranges as far north as Massachusetts in the U.S. down to Cear�, Brazil. Adults can be found at reefs or rock outcrops along the ocean floor in waters ranging from 30 to 600 ft. in depth. In the decades prior to the closure, the red snapper fishery experienced levels of fishing that were unsustainable for the population. Eventually, the over-exploitation had dramatic effects on the population and the size of the fish being caught. Snapper can reach 40 inches in length and can live for more than 50 years, but fishing pressure has affected the demographic structure of the population. In 1962, the average fish caught was 11 years old and weighed 21 lbs; by 2009, the averages dropped to 2 years old and only a pound. Most red snapper don't reach sexual maturity until they are between the ages of 2 and 5, which means that in recent years many snapper were caught before they had the chance to contribute to the future of the species. Larger females also carry more eggs than the younger, smaller fish (i.e., they have greater fecundity). When a red snapper first matures they usually carry only 150,000 eggs, while fish older than ten can carry more than 3 million eggs.
The red snapper populations are nowhere near the historic population levels, but the new management plan has the dual objective of allowing fishing to continue and, hopefully, the population to rebound (Figure 1). Historical peak harvest has been as high as 2,935,000 lbs. of fish (gutted weight) in 1962 but dropped to only 511,000 lbs. in 2010. The current level is believed to be between 11 and 14 percent of a healthy population, but the reduced fishing pressure should allow fish to reach a larger size and older age, therefore, increasing the amount of eggs that are produced each year. Research suggests that the new regulations will provide a sustainable future for the red snapper, but it will take time before they have fully recovered.
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Opportunistic meal
If you have been following our Field Notes posts, then you will recall from Last Meal that we are currently identifying the stomach contents of hundreds of predatory fishes. So far, one of the more interesting finds was a largemouth bass captured with the tail of a 9-inch alligator lizard hanging out of its mouth. Apparently, there aren't many critters that a largemouth bass won't try to consume. They have been known to eat crayfish, frogs, turtles, rodents, waterfowl and many fish species. This lizard is more than half the length of the bass, but research indicates that mouth gape, rather than the length of prey, limits the maximum size of prey species... Read more >
In a previous report, "Salmon Barge In", we stated that barging salmon had not been attempted in CA prior to this year. Dan Odenweller has helpfully brought to our attention a study conducted in 1968 in the San Joaquin River that involved barging salmon downstream. This study was probably overlooked because it was reported in a hard-to-find document, "Barging Program with Yearling Fall King Salmon on the San Joaquin River". Copies of the document are available upon request.
Figure 1. Population trend for red snapper in the western Atlantic provided by PEW Environment Group.
IN THE NEWS: Recent stories you might have missed...
Retooled plan for Delta water diversions fails to impress area residents
Sacramento Bee
A plan for two massive tunnels diverting water from the Delta has been scaled back 40 percent in size. The project would divert only 10 percent less water, however, and it remains to be seen if this proves less harmful to fish and their habitat. The BDCP is an unprecedented effort by state and federal water agencies to replumb the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a source of water for 25 million Californians and more than 3 million acres of farmland. Read more >
Spring-run chinook not rare in Butte Creek this year
Chico Enterprise Record
Swimmers are taking a break in the hot afternoons, parking their cars along the winding road that parallels Butte Creek. Farther up into the canyon past the Honey Run Covered Bridge, spring-run chinook salmon seem to be taking a break, too. Allen Harthorn lives in the Helltown area along Butte Creek, where several platforms have been built on a cliff high above the water. From there he has a private view of the salmon migration,...Read more >
How lamprey get over Bonneville Dam
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Awhile back, I shared a video on Facebook of the relatively new lamprey passage system at Bonneville Dam taken by Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission President Paul Lumley on his iPhone. "Cool!" I thought. "I didn't know Bonneville had a lamprey passage system!" One of my followers commented that the video could use some narration. So, I got Sara Thompson of CRTFC to talk about lamprey and the passage system and cobbled the video together with her voice and photos in the piece above... Read more >
Spring Chinook Numbers Lower Than Expected
Oregon Public Broadcasting
You might remember predictions of really high spring chinook runs this year. But, it turns outs, after all the returning salmon were tallied up, the numbers were not as high as everyone had hoped. Biologists had predicted the Columbia River would see one of the stronger spring salmon runs in the past decade. Similarly big expectations were set for returning salmon numbers in other Northwest river basins... Read more >
SeaOrbiter to study World's Oceans
Red Orbit
As the International Space Station drifts across the sky, a companion craft might be doing the same across the oceans as early as next year. Conceived in part by French architect Jacques Rougerie, the SeaOrbiter craft will be a mostly self-sustainable, half-submerged floating laboratory. Currently, the SeaOrbiter scale model and concept is the centerpiece of the French pavilion at the Expo2012 in Yeosu, South Korea and is slated for construction in October. Read more >
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