After several months of supplemental success, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will close recreational red snapper season in state waters Sept. 8 at 12:01 a.m.
Open since March 20 and separate from the much shorter federal red snapper season, LDWF hopes our extended state season will have provided the opportunity for Louisiana anglers to harvest roughly 750,000 pounds of red snapper, numbers close to the state’s historic and projected share of Gulf of Mexico landings.
Because NOAA Fisheries uses a flawed system called the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) to estimate red snapper landings, its imprecise and untimely estimates have short-changed anglers on fishing days and their share of the annual harvest.
How much?
In 2015, the state season offered 172 days of red snapper fishing versus a modest 11-day season in federal waters. In 2014, MRIP’s projections were so off base that we didn’t need to close the state season until the last day of the year.
The state currently utilizes a superior sampling program, LA Creel, which gives state biologists a more precise and timely picture of harvest estimates. More precise and timely figures, in turn, lead to better recommendations on seasons, closures and limits.
Using innovative technology, the LA Creel survey takes less time at the dock and on the phone. The information collected allows for recreational landing estimates to be determined at a more localized level in order to provide the necessary data to make localized fisheries management decisions as opposed to MRIP’s one size fits all model.
“In Louisiana, our anglers and staff are committed to providing the best data possible. Because of this, we’re able to be fully accountable for the amount of red snapper our anglers harvest and responsibly manage our recreational fishing seasons,” LDWF Secretary Robert Barham said. “Most of all, we’re able to maximize angler opportunity, providing our recreational anglers 172 red snapper fishing days during this state season.”
Unfortunately, our inability to see eye-to-eye with the Feds doesn’t stop there.
In 2014, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council voted to amend the management plan for the Gulf red snapper fishery and separate the recreational sector into two components: federally-permitted charter captains and private anglers. The private anglers group includes charter captains who do not hold federal permits.
Private anglers were able to take advantage of our supplemental state season, but federal law prohibits federally-permitted charter captains from fishing outside the federal season, leaving thousands of pounds of red snapper on the table. According to our calculations, federally-permitted charter fishermen caught only 215,000 pounds of red snapper during the 45-day 2015 federal season. That’s only 64 percent of their historic landings, with missed opportunity for approximately 123,000 pounds of red snapper. Using a flexible management approach, we could have used real-time LA Creel data to extend the season for our federally-permitted charter captains.
“Unfortunately, the benefits private anglers enjoyed in 2015 did not extend to our entire recreational fishing industry,” explained Randy Pausina, head of fisheries for the department. “This resulted in lost opportunities for our charter captains due to NOAA Fisheries’ inability to manage the fishery. We’ll continue to do whatever we can to improve how this fishery operates, but until LDWF has the full authority to manage this fishery, private anglers and charter businesses will continue to suffer.”
