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I read Shannon Tompkins outdoor article this week on Red Snapper regs and emailed him and asked why he didn't delve into the commercial quotas and how unfair it all is to recs, especially the mosquito fleet. He actually sent me a personal email response, which I find interesting as well as very nice that he took his time to respond. A+ Shannon-you're good in my book.
Here is his response:
Jerry,
Thanks for the email.
I just didn’t have the space to get into the whole sordid issue of the commercial/recreational allocation of red snapper, although I have done so in probably 90 percent of the articles I’ve written on red snapper management – and that’s a lot of articles, as I believe the first one I wrote on red snapper management was in 1983.
Obviously, you know how the total allowable catch of red snapper is allocated – 51 percent to commercials and 49 percent to recreational anglers. And you also know commercials holding an IFQ for red snapper can take that quota at any time over the fishing year. And that commercials are allowed to retain red snapper 13 inches and longer while recs are limited to retaining only snapper 16 inches or longer.
Yes, we recreational anglers are getting hosed.
Talked with some of Texas’ reps to Gulf Council over the past couple of days (I was in Austin). They are just as frustrated as we are. Real change won’t come for Texas fishermen until they divide the Gulf into eastern and western zones for red snapper management. We in the western Gulf are “subsidizing” the recreational red snapper anglers in the eastern Gulf.
We anglers off Texas land about 5 percent of the rec quota of red snapper, even with our year-round state-waters fishery. If NMFS would allow a split between eastern and western Gulf and evenly divide the rec quota between the two zones, we’d have a LOT longer recreational snapper season.
Anyway…
I really do appreciate the email and the comments.
Hope you have a great autumn…even without a fall snapper season.
Take care. Stay safe.
Shannon
Here is his response:
Jerry,
Thanks for the email.
I just didn’t have the space to get into the whole sordid issue of the commercial/recreational allocation of red snapper, although I have done so in probably 90 percent of the articles I’ve written on red snapper management – and that’s a lot of articles, as I believe the first one I wrote on red snapper management was in 1983.
Obviously, you know how the total allowable catch of red snapper is allocated – 51 percent to commercials and 49 percent to recreational anglers. And you also know commercials holding an IFQ for red snapper can take that quota at any time over the fishing year. And that commercials are allowed to retain red snapper 13 inches and longer while recs are limited to retaining only snapper 16 inches or longer.
Yes, we recreational anglers are getting hosed.
Talked with some of Texas’ reps to Gulf Council over the past couple of days (I was in Austin). They are just as frustrated as we are. Real change won’t come for Texas fishermen until they divide the Gulf into eastern and western zones for red snapper management. We in the western Gulf are “subsidizing” the recreational red snapper anglers in the eastern Gulf.
We anglers off Texas land about 5 percent of the rec quota of red snapper, even with our year-round state-waters fishery. If NMFS would allow a split between eastern and western Gulf and evenly divide the rec quota between the two zones, we’d have a LOT longer recreational snapper season.
Anyway…
I really do appreciate the email and the comments.
Hope you have a great autumn…even without a fall snapper season.
Take care. Stay safe.
Shannon
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