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Recreational
anglers will soon get another opportunity to enjoy the abundant red snapper
population when the Alabama state season opens on July 1 and runs through July
31.
After
recreational anglers were allowed to fish only 10 days in federal waters, from
June 1 through June 10, Alabama Marine Resources Director Chris Blankenship
said Governor Robert Bentley and Conservation Commissioner N. Gunter Guy Jr.
gave approval for Marine Resources to set a red snapper and triggerfish season
for Alabama out to 9 miles in the Gulf of Mexico.
“People
have been very appreciative of the state snapper season,” Blankenship said.
“I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from fishermen about having this
season.
“I
have had several questions about the 3 miles that the feds recognize as state
waters and the 9 miles we recognize in the state. Anglers are to be reminded
that, although the State of Alabama is recognizing the 9-mile limit, the
federal government is only recognizing the 3-mile line. Fishing for red snapper
and triggerfish between 3 and 9 miles is at the angler’s risk. I’m hopeful this will not be an issue moving
forward as we try to get legislation passed in Congress to make the boundary
consistent.”
Blankenship
said there wasn’t any hesitation to allow anglers to benefit from the great
reef-fish fishery off the Alabama Gulf Coast.
“We’ve
looked at the resource that we have offshore of Alabama, and we just felt like
that we had enough resources, even within state waters, to allow our fishermen
more access than what the federal government had given them,” he said. “July is
such an important month for fishing here in Alabama with the Fourth of July,
the Roy Martin Young Anglers Tournament and the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo.
So we wanted to have the opportunity for people to be able to fish for red
snapper during those times and catch them in state waters.”
Blankenship
said Marine Resources is working to improve the reef fish habitat within that
9-mile boundary, and several structures and reef zones are already in place.
“We’ve
got several gas rigs within 9 miles,” he said. “We’ve got the R. Vernon Minton
nearshore reef areas off of Orange Beach. There are several hundred pyramids
within the Minton Reef Zone, and those are within 3 miles. We have the trolling
corridor that’s south of Perdido Pass. That is inside the 9 miles. There are the
Buffalo barges, the Liscomb tug and some natural reefs off the west end of
Dauphin Island, so there are several fishing opportunities within that 9
miles.”
Blankenship
said Marine Resources is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to
establish new reef zones within the 9-mile boundary, but he said not much
headway has been made.
“Honestly,
we’ve had some difficulty getting that moving with the Corps of Engineers,” he
said. “They’re concerned about the size of the area we are attempting to permit
and shipping lanes. We’re trying to work through some of those issues. But,
it’s been over a year since we applied for the reef zone, and we don’t seem to
be very close to getting the permit.
Blankenship
said the requested reef zone is about 90 square miles in three areas. The first
zone would start at the Florida line and cover eastern Baldwin County. Marine
Resources also wants to build some habitat for juvenile red snapper in a reef
zone just south of the Sea Buoy. The other reef area would be off the west end
of Dauphin Island.
“We
have gone back and selected specific locations within those areas to try to
help facilitate the permitting process to get this moving,” he said.
Blankenship
reminded anglers that the mandatory Red Snapper Reporting System, also known as
Snapper Check, will be in force for the state snapper and trigger season. He
said he won’t venture a guess about the number of snapper that will be taken
during the state season, and he isn’t quite ready to release the final numbers
on the number of red snapper reported during the federal season.
“We
want anglers to be sure and use Snapper Check so we can get a good, accurate
count of the number of fish caught during the state season,” he said.
On
the legislative front, Alabama Senator Richard Shelby added language to an
appropriations bill that would set Alabama state waters at 9 miles and provide
funding for an independent stock assessment of the red snapper population in
the Gulf of Mexico.
“It
would be valuable to have someone other than NOAA (National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration) conduct an independent stock assessment for red
snapper,” Blankenship said. “Then we can see how that assessment compares to
the current assessment. Language is included in the bill that the oil and gas
structures and artificial reefs would have to be included in the habitat in the
stock assessment, which very well could make a significant difference. Senator
Shelby’s bill also includes a provision on the MRIP (Marine Recreational
Information Program) data collection program and how data from the changes in
the program will be used.”
In
a written statement released recently, Sen. Shelby said, “The bill provides
sufficient resources and direction to improve the management of our Nation’s
fisheries, including new approaches to manage red snapper in the Gulf of
Mexico. These new approaches should provide a more equitable system for
commercial fishermen and increase the number of fishing days for recreational
anglers.”
Blankenship
also said Congressman Bradley Byrne has been working for red snapper reforms in
the U.S. House of Representatives. Byrne’s legislation would also push the
state waters boundary for fisheries management to 9 miles, but would relieve
NOAA of the red snapper stock assessment duty and turn it over to the Gulf
States Marine Fisheries Commission, based in Ocean Springs, Miss.
“Congressman
Byrne’s legislation, which has already passed out of the House, would also
remove the hard quotas that are causing some of the really short seasons,”
Blankenship said. “With Congressman Byrne and Senator Shelby both pushing
reforms in Congress, it just shows how unhappy everybody is with the current
status of red snapper management, and they’re trying to do something to make an
improvement.”
Blankenship
said weather will dictate how many anglers will participate in the July state
season. If the federal season is any indication, there will be quite a few
snapper anglers in the Gulf.
“The
10-day federal season had great weather,” Blankenship said. “The seas were calm
almost all 10 days, so there was a lot of participation. I know a lot of the
charter boats were booked up and running two trips a day. I know a lot of
people who took off that week so they could snapper fish as much as possible
because it was such a short season.
“Most
people that I talked to at the dock and saw on Facebook really had great
success during the short season. They just want the season to be longer, as do
we.”
During
the July state snapper season, anglers will be allowed to take two red snapper
per day with a 16-inch minimum size total length. The gray triggerfish limit
will be two per day with a 14-inch limit fork length. Fork length is measured
from the tip of the mouth to the fork of the tail.
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Alabama's mandatory Red Snapper Reporting System, also known as Snapper Check, will be in force for the state snapper season July 1-30, 2015. More information on this program is found at http://outdooralabama.com/red-snapper-data-and-mandatory-reporting-faqs.
NOTE: David Rainer's column will take a one-week vacation and return on
July 10.
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