Biologists accompanied close to 300 charter and headboat fishing
trips and tagged more than 15,000 fish during the first 18 months
of the research.
Since the summer of 2009, the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission (FWC) has conducted studies of the
recreational fisheries for red snapper, gag, red grouper, and other
reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico. Anglers and for-hire recreational
fishing vessels are helping researchers to collect information to
evaluate the survival of released fish and the effectiveness of
conservation measures, including gear requirements for circle hooks
and venting tools.
Methods
FWC has partnered with recreational anglers and for-hire vessel
operators in Florida, using several approaches to assess the
success rates of catch-and-release fishing:
- A year-long survey of licensed saltwater anglers. Each month,
selected license holders received a survey in the mail.
Participants reported when and where they fished for reef fish
during the previous month.
- A catch card to tally the red snapper caught and released
during recreational fishing trips. Anglers record the size
category and hooking location for each red snapper they
release.
- At-sea observers. FWC biologists accompany passengers on
charter fishing boats and headboats and collect information on
types of gear used, where fish are hooked, handling methods such as
dehooking and venting, and the size and condition of fish that are
released.
- A tag-recapture study as part of the at-sea observer program.
Biologists tag snapper and grouper species, and information from
fish that are recaptured by the public and reported to FWC will be
used to evaluate the survival of fish released by recreational
anglers. Tags are printed with a toll-free phone number for FWC's
Angler Tag Return
Hotline. Anglers receive free T-shirts for reporting
information about tagged fish they catch.
Results Through Fall 2010
Close to 300 charter and headboat fishing trips were surveyed in
the at-sea observer program, which had 122 for-hire vessels
participating in the Panhandle and 38 in the Tampa Bay area.
More than 15,000 red snapper and grouper of various species were
tagged during the first 18 months of the study (Figure 1). Most
grouper were tagged in the Tampa Bay area; most red snapper, in the
Panhandle. Preliminary tag-return rates were within expected range,
based on review of other published tag-recapture studies in the
Gulf of Mexico (Table 1).
Figure 1. Reef fish tagged and recaptured June
2009-November 2010. Scamp were added after the survey had begun
because of the numbers observed being released during sampled
trips.
Table 1. Preliminary tag return rates for this
study versus return rates for comparable studies.
|
Species
|
Number of Tagged Fish
|
Percentage Recaptured
|
Percentage Recaptured in Comparable
Studies
|
|
Red Snapper
|
6,359
|
6.0%
|
2.3% to 17.7%
|
|
Gag
|
1,796
|
10.1%
|
6.8% to 11.0%
|
|
Red Grouper
|
6,941
|
6.0%
|
8.5%
|
|
Scamp
|
265
|
4.2%
|
|
More than 200 red snapper catch cards have been returned with
data on more than 4,500 fish. Preliminary results indicate that
more than 90% of released fish were hooked in the lip as opposed to
being hooked internally or "foul-hooked" externally (Table 2);
97.6% of respondents reported having used circle hooks.
Approximately 50% of all red snapper released were above the legal
size limit (Table 2).
Table 2. Preliminary results of red snapper
catch card data from recreational fishing trips taken between June
2009 and November 2010, tallied by size and what part of the fish
was hooked.
|
Fish Size
|
Hook Location (# of fish, %
of total reported)
|
Totals
|
|
Lip/Mouth
|
Throat
|
Gill
|
Gut
|
Eye
|
External
|
|
≤10"
|
189
(4.2%)
|
12
(<1%)
|
0
(0%)
|
3
(<1%)
|
2
(<1%)
|
0
(0%)
|
206
(4.5%)
|
|
>10" and ≤12"
|
383
(8.4%)
|
34
(<1%)
|
4
(<1%)
|
8
(<1%)
|
0
(0%)
|
1
(<1%)
|
430
(9.5%)
|
|
>12" and ≤14"
|
470
(10.3%)
|
34
(<1%)
|
0
(0%)
|
11
(<1%)
|
1
(<1%)
|
2
(<1%)
|
518
(11.4%)
|
|
>14" and ≤16"
|
889
(19.5%)
|
63
(1.4%)
|
8
(<1%)
|
26
(<1%)
|
1
(<1%)
|
4
(<1%)
|
991
(21.8%)
|
|
>16" (Legal)
|
2,269
(49.9%)
|
82
(1.8%)
|
10
(<1%)
|
36
(<1%)
|
0
(0%)
|
6
(<1%)
|
2,403
(52.8%)
|
|
Totals (% of samples)
|
4,200
(92.3%)
|
225
(4.9%)
|
22
(<1%)
|
84
(1.8%)
|
4
(<1%)
|
13
(<1%)
|
4,548
(100%)
|
The mail survey of licensed saltwater anglers was conducted for
one year. Close to 48,000 surveys were mailed to licensed saltwater
anglers, and nearly 4,000 people (less than 10%) returned completed
surveys. Higher response rates are needed for this survey to be
useful in estimating the number of people who participate in red
snapper fishing.
Next Steps
More focus will be placed on distributing catch cards to anglers
and increasing returns in 2011. The mail survey of licensed
saltwater anglers has been discontinued. FWC will continue to tag
snapper and grouper during trips on recreational fishing vessels
and collect information from the public about recaptured fish.
With research funding through 2012, FWC scientists will evaluate
data from the tagging study to assess the survival of these
caught-and-released reef fish and the success of conservation
measures, including the use of circle hooks and venting techniques.
Knowledge of how survival relates to factors such as fish size,
handling, and condition upon release will help researchers more
accurately estimate release survival and better account for the
impacts of recreational fisheries.
State and federal regulations require the use of
circle hooks when fishing for reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico.
An FWC biologist applies a tag to a small red snapper
caught by a recreational angler.
An undersized
red grouper is tagged and ready for release.
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