Snapper count should be final nail in NOAA’s inept management of red snapper.
This week, the public and Congress finally heard why nothing seemed to add up in federal management of Gulf red snapper. It turns out that NOAA just doesn’t count snapper very well.
All anglers need to be aware of some recent developments with the management of red snapper. On August 24, 2020 the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published a temporary rule in the Federal Register: 2020 Red Snapper Private Angling Component Accountability Measure in Federal Waters Off Texas. Just two years after approving a plan to allow the Gulf states to develop their own recreational data collection systems to better manage red snapper and certifying those state programs, NOAA Fisheries intends to force the states to calibrate their data back to the flawed federal data system that caused significant turmoil in the first place.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission moved to adopt changes in southern flounder regulations, making slight modifications to the proposed rule change.
The CCA Texas State Board of Directors voted on Tuesday February 25, 2020 to support Texas Parks and Wildlife’s proposed measures to conserve southern flounder.
Southern Flounder are in trouble.
Gradually, over the last three decades, populations have been in decline and the abundance of flounder across their entire geographic range are at near-record lows. Fishery managers from Texas to North Carolina are grappling with difficult management decisions as previous actions taken by the states have only manufactured temporary results. Click here to read more…
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is seeking public input on potential changes to the recreational and commercial flounder fishery for the 2020-2021 license year.
Listen in to the 3rd annual flounder discussion with Kevin Burns and Wayne Pedigo. Shane and the guys talk about the continued decline of southern flounder stocks and some potential options to help recover the fishery to historical numbers. Disclaimer – at the time of recording this podcast none of the thoughts shared are official proposals for management changes.
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