A multi-billion-dollar recreational fishery in the Gulf of Mexico teeters on the edge of collapse.

It's not really because of a shortage of fish. It's because of an imbalance in how those fish are divided up among fishermen. If you're one of the lucky few who possess a commercial license, you get to haul in fish by the ton. If, on the other hand, you're like thousands of coastal residents--a boat owner, family angler, weekend warrior, charterboat captain--you are being managed right out of the resource.

NICE RED SNAPPER CATCHES COULD BECOME RARE. Todd Kelley & Bryan Brown caught these 17 and 12-pounders on a double hook-up recently off St. George Island. They were using live pinfish.

Even worse than watching commercial boats land snapper and grouper during months when you aren't allowed to, is hearing about shrimp trawls continuing to decimate snapper populations. Adding to the insanity, the federal Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council was considering tightening your snapper limit, and closing even more months (red snapper was already down to a 6 1/2-month season).

Captain Bob Zales' family has been in the Panama City Beach charter fishing business for 41 years. He has been a successful charter captain, at one time managing five boats. For the last 20 years, he has volunteered his time and expenses as an advisory to the Gulf Council.

As with many along the Florida Gulf Coast, for Zales, the summer of 2006 was a tipping point.

In the following letter addressed to the U.S. Secretary and Undersecretary for Commerce, Zales put into words the sentiments of fishermen in distress. It is poignant, insider's testimony to the failure of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Zales letter is edited here for brevity.

Zales and many other fishermen were planning to travel to a Gulf Council meeting in Baton Rouge in mid-August, to air their grievances. More public hearings were scheduled for September and October (see below), as the Council lurched toward final decisions on snapper management in November. Stay tuned to www.floridasportsman.com for more.

Dear Admiral Lautenbacher:

It is with great apprehension that I send this letter to you. As you know I have worked as an advisor for the NMFS and NOAA for 20 years now. I have tried very hard to provide good advice and recommendations to the service during that period of time and have worked very hard to build a link between the agency and constituents. I have represented many charterboat owners throughout this country and have worked hard to explain various management measures to them over the 20 years and try to have them work with the agencies instead of against them. I did this as I have been constantly asked by agency managers to work with the various managers and try to keep the constituents informed and to let them know how their concerns were being addressed and their fisheries were being properly managed. I have participated in various efforts to create a charter/headboat moratorium and to help improve the fatally flawed MRFSS system. Many of these efforts have been against my better judgment but because of assurance from fishery managers that things will improve if more measures are implemented, I tried my best to help. I have been asked to not tell the public of serious possibilities in the red snapper management system so the agency would have time to look at other options. The red snapper fishery has been undergoing serious management measures for some time and I have been constantly assured by Dr. Hogarth [Bill Hogarth, NMFS Director] that the issues were being addressed and the fishery was improving and the recreational sector would benefit from them. This has not happened. Admiral, I am sorry to say time is up!

I would like to say that I believe that Dr. Hogarth has tried his best and exerted a valiant effort to fix the broken system but he has failed. The federal management system in the Gulf of Mexico has been and still is a failure. I can only think of one federally managed fin fish fishery that could be claimed a full success and that is Spanish mackerel and to be honest the only reason it is a success is because of the Florida net ban, not federal management.

The red snapper fishery has been mismanaged since the 1980s and continues to get worse. Your agency is pushing hard for an IFQ [individual fishing quota] plan for the commercial sector which is allocated 51 percent of the fishery. Did you know that 88, again 88 individuals will own that fishery which currently lands 4.65 million pounds with a maximum value of $15 million? Did you also know that of the 88 individuals there are many who are either convicted fish criminals or have plead to lesser charges of violations in the red snapper fishery? I use the term fish criminal as they continue to violate the regulations and pay fines and in many cases have hidden compartments which clearly indicates pure intent to violate. There are fish house owners and red snapper vessel owners with high catch records making them the ones to receive the largest share who will be given the fishery to continue the illegal black market and illegal harvest of they fishery. I bet you are unaware of the number of people and their violations, in many cases, multiple violations.

Are you aware of the promise by Dr. Crabtree, Regional Administrator of the Southeast Region, to three commercial fishermen that he would consider an emergency rule to implement a 13-inch size limit for the commercial sector? This promise was made to two individuals who have fishery violations in the red snapper fishery. Are you aware of the current efforts in Texas by recreational fishermen to try to inform law enforcement of the constant illegal harvest and landings of red snapper along their coast? Clearly, you know that people will not bring illegal fish to a dock with hopes to be able to sell them; the market is there and will be expanded under the proposed IFQ. Admiral, all this information was known by the agency but has not been passed on to the public.

Are you aware of the fact that there is no proposal to alter the recreational red snapper size limit thus there will be a differential size of three inches which will create severe problems with the recreational fishery? Oh, and are you aware that although the commercial red snapper fishery has a maximum landing value of $15 million, the saltwater recreational fishery in the Gulf produces over $8 BILLION in economic impact? Currently your agency has proposals to take the 49 percent allocated to the recreational sector and when the overall TAC is reduced from the current 9.12 million pounds to somewhere between 2 and 7 million pounds, they will create a new fishing season that could be as little as 3 to 4 months. Admiral, there is a serious problem with this picture. I have not even mentioned the problem with shrimp vessel bycatch issues and the lack of regulations on that sector that, according to your science, is the problem with the red snapper fishery.

The fact that the commercial fishery is being handed over to fishery criminals so they can continue their illegal harvest and market is going to be hard to explain to the American taxpayer who will be substantially subsidizing the fishery for those very same criminals. According to the Magnuson Stevens Act, only 3 percent can be collected from the fishery which hardly touches the cost of management and enforcement. Enforcement does an excellent job with the very limited resources they have but 5 NMFS agents trying to cover the Gulf of Mexico is an impossible job. They are probably the best managed part of your agency as they seem to get the biggest bang for my buck as they work day and night trying to stop the violator.

Admiral, I have tried hard to work with the system and have worked hard to keep constituents informed. I first got involved with this system because of poor recreational data and we now know after the NRC report that the data is not adequate to manage fisheries or properly assess them. Currently Dr. Nancy Thompson is working hard to try to fix this system but I feel that she will be constrained by the bureaucracy and not be able to do the job she is tasked to do.

I am certain the agency did not make you aware that Orange Beach Fishing Association has draft legislation to offer a voluntary buyout for both the commercial and recreational charter boat red snapper fishermen. This buyout doesn’t cost the taxpayers a dime, the recreational users will purchase a stamp that will pay the loan debt and only those wanting to sell will sell, however it is a way to reduce effort and the quota purchased by the recreational anglers would be transferred to the recreational quota. Dr. Hogarth and Dr. Crabtree don’t support this particular buyout that would help maintain the recreational season and you know the reason they give for not supporting it? They don’t feel the people buying the quota should get it! They want recreational anglers to buy it, but leave the quota with the remaining commercial fishermen. I may not be to smart, but it doesn’t take someone smart to figure out they have serious problems.

You have a serious problem coming at you. You have an agency that if it was a ship would be about three-quarters underwater with the bow up, no working lifeboats and very few life jackets. My family has been in the charter and commercial business for over 40 years and due to the mismanagement and extremely poor future I see due to the mismanagement I have my business for sale. There are many others in this business who are also selling.

If the red snapper fishery is not reallocated to the net economic benefit of this nation you will see local fishing communities hurt and historical activities eliminated forever. I guess this letter is in a way my last desperate attempt to help this system and get the attention it needs because in the 20 years I have been involved I have never seen anything taken away by management given back. That in itself speaks poorly for the system. I intend to contact many in congress to make them aware and to also request some type of investigation into the mismanagement of the red snapper fishery as at this point I would rather take my chances with a federal judge or congress to properly manage this resource.

Sincerely,
Captain R.F.Zales, II

Let Your Own Voice Be Heard

Gulf Council Public Hearings on Reef Fish Amendment 27/Shrimp Amendment 14

This is a regulatory document whose terms could cripple recreational red snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. For more details on public hearings and other avenues for comment on this and other issues, contact the Gulf Council at (813) 348-1630, or visitwww.gulfcouncil.org

Abbeville, LA Sept. 25
Mobile, AL Sept. 25
Chauvin, LA Sept. 26
Pascagoula, MS Sept. 26
Belle Chase, LA Sept. 27
Orange Beach, AL Sept. 27
Tampa, FL Sept. 28
Panama City, FL Sept. 28
Fort Myers, FL Sept. 28
Brownsville, TX Oct. 16
Corpus Christi, TX Oct. 17
Palacios, TX Oct. 18
Galveston, TX Oct. 19