Step to save snapper divides fishermen
Associated PressPublished December 11, 2005
PENSACOLA - Fishermen and environmentalists alike admit that red snapper has been overfished in the Gulf of Mexico. But opinions are divided over changes that would set quotas for commercial fishermen.
Under a change expected to take effect in 2007, each of the 137 licensed commercial red snapper fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico would receive individual quotas or shares of the 4.65-million pounds of red snapper the federal government allows harvested each year. The size of each fisherman's quota would be based on his historical catch record, with the largest share to those who have caught the most over the past 10 years.
Some say it amounts to a federal subsidy for the most successful commercial fishermen and could force some small operators out of business.
Wayne Swingle, the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Council's executive director, pointed to the success of quotas with the Alaskan halibut. Halibut's commercial season was reduced to just 72 hours per year in the early 1990s before a quota system was adopted in 1994. It is now fished commercially year-round.
Congress placed a moratorium on commercial fishing quotas in 1995. Red snapper could become the first U.S. fish to fall under a quota system since the moratorium was lifted in 2001.
Aaron Viles, fisheries campaign director for the Gulf Restoration Network, said recent studies show the gulf red snapper population is only 7 percent of its historical high.
The council is expected to further limit catch levels next year. Commercial and recreational red snapper fishermen are currently allowed a total of 9-million pounds; that may be reduced to as little as 2-million pounds.
Viles and Pam Baker, a Texas fisheries biologist with the advocacy group Environmental Defense, both predict that other gulf fisheries, including grouper and possibly shrimp, could come under quotas if the snapper plan succeeds.