Tag: Red Snapper

Alabama Reefs Welcome Divers

Alabama Reefs Welcome Divers

Alabama may have only 53 miles of Gulf shoreline, but offshore, it has thousands of artificial reefs that have earned it a reputation as the red snapper capital of the Gulf of Mexico.

Average size? 10 pounds. These artificial reefs are also helping Alabama strengthen its
reputation as a saltwater scuba diving destination. Divers often prefer sites that are not so far and not so deep. Alabama has those too. One is a 271-foot coastal freighter scuttled in about 100 feet of water 20 miles south of Orange Beach.

Nicknamed Lulu (aka freighter Youkamu), it rests upright so scuba divers can start exploring just 50 feet below the surface. Another is Poseidon’s Playground that is three miles offshore in just 38 feet of water. It features statues of Greek gods Poseidon, Apollo, and Venus. It is even promoted as a wedding site, although reciting vows and kissing your new spouse while wearing goggles could be a bit awkward.

Reef Foundation President Vince Lucido said the new diving reef was the brainchild of local scuba instructor Lila Harris, who wanted to establish something closer to shore that’s accessible for younger divers and other beginners. The reef’s depth is about 38 feet, and 40 is the limit for novice divers.

The foundation aims to involve local artists, schools, organizations, and others. A reef could celebrate someone’s life.

The Alabama Gulf Coast Reef and Restoration Foundation played a major role in securing both sites and others. Another popular spot, especially for snorkeling, is Whiskey Wreck, an old steel-hulled vessel just 150 feet from Bahama Bob’s Beach Side Café in Gulf Shores.

There are more artificial reefs in deeper water, and their hard surface ecosystems support
abundant marine life, including Alabama’s big red snapper. By the way, Alabama’s 2019 red snapper season starts June 1st.

For more information and coordinates of most inshore and offshore reefs, go to outdooralabama.com/sites

By Bill Aucoin, Southern Boating May 2019

Red Snapper Count

Red Snapper

Red snapper, delicious, but also heavily fished, is the now the focus of an innovative federal and state collaboration.

Since 2018, all five Gulf states manage red snapper fishing for private vessels not just in state waters, but also federal.

NOAA Fisheries has issued Exempted Fishing Permits for each state to set its own private vessel angler season dates, collect landings data, and then close the season if and when its red snapper quota is reached.

Tasty red snapper is one of the most sought-after fish in the Gulf of Mexico, so fisheries managers carefully watch the populations of this deep water reef fish. NOAA Fisheries has set the 2019 red snapper season for recreational charter boats fishing federal waters 12 miles out.

The “For Hire” season starts June 1st and lasts for 62 days. You can only keep two, and they have to be at least 16 inches long. If you want to be in the loop, sign up for text message alerts.

For recreational anglers, individual states manage the red snapper seasons and other regulations for both state and federal waters. Each state is different.

Florida: myfwc.com

Alabama:  outdooralabama.com

Mississippi:  dmr.ms.gov

Louisiana: call (504) 284-2032

Texas: email julie.hagen@tpwd.texas.gov or call (512) 389-4620.

A Red Snapper Count in the works

Increasingly vocal pushback, especially from recreational anglers, has led to the award of
an in-depth, $12-million research initiative to accurately determine the abundance of red snapper in U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico with a red snapper count.

An independent review panel convened by the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium has picked a team of 21 scientists from universities in all five Gulf states. Their research will be coordinated by Greg Stunz, Marine Biology Professor at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and a voting member of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.

The project has enthusiastic support from the person on top of the federal fisheries management pyramid, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. It is also supported by Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama who chairs the appropriations subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. Shelby said he hoped an accurate red snapper count in the Gulf could be determined “once and for all.”

Anglers will tag red snappers and report numbers and locations of previously-tagged snappers that they catch. Commercial fishing vessels will host observers to count fish brought aboard and their locations. Other on-the-water research tools will include remote-operated vehicles, camera sleds, scuba divers, and acoustics.

By Bill AuCoin, Southern Boating June 2019

More Gulf Updates:

Art Festivals in the Gulf

The Battle for Mobile Bay

Loophole that lets anglers exceed snapper limits draws fire

Anglers in Texas are unleashing their creativity when it comes to getting around shortening seasons and shrinking quotas for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, but their actions are facing criticism.
The popular species has become a flashpoint in the debate over federal vs. regional management of fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. In February, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council introduced the final draft of Amendment 39 to Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico, which would establish a regional management program for recreational red snapper fishing.
For now, though, the NOAA’s Fisheries Service sets the length of the federal recreational red snapper fishing season. Historically, the season began June 1st and continued until the quota was met. But 2014 saw one of the shortest federal seasons on record—just nine days. However, individual states can set their own season length for anglers fishing in state waters, and this is where things get interesting.
Texas, for example, pretty much ignores the federal season altogether. Recreational anglers in Texan waters, which extend nine miles out from the coastline, can fish for snapper year-round as long as they stay within their bag limit.
However, catch limits are routinely exceeded thanks to charter fishing companies operating what they call “catch share fishing experiences.” These companies, such as Galveston Sea Ventures in Galveston, Texas, have been allocated a set portion of the commercial red snapper fishery—a catch share—in the Gulf, but they do not operate as commercial fishermen. Instead, they ferry recreational anglers out to the fishing grounds and back, and when they return, their customers can buy as many fish as they’d like to take home. Call it what you will—a loophole or a gray area—it’s stirring passions on both sides.
According to Scott Hickman, owner of Circle H Outfitters and Charters in Galveston—another catch share fishing experience company—they sought out the legal requirements prior to launching their first trip and continue to strictly follow the rules as to what is mandated by both federal and Texas law enforcement. Hickman reiterates that his trips are not charters but commercial fishing trips during which people can enjoy the experience and only reel in fish if they want to.
The Coastal Conservation Association (CCA), however, says that the growing popularity of catch share fishing does not bode well for the future of the fishery, as companies with commercial permits will be able to relentlessly fish near-shore fishing grounds. CCA Conservation Director, Ted Venker, claims the line between recreational and commercial fishing is no longer distinct, and that no one is protecting the public.
In April, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council stated that the 2016 recreational red snapper season is likely to be another short one running for as little as eight days, while charter boats operating in federal waters should see a longer season, between 38 and 56 days. For more information, visit: Sustainable Fisheries

By Del Gillis, Southern Boating Magazine June 2016

Gourmet food scraps

The Cajuns of South Louisiana are known for their interest in spicy food and exotic flavors, but fishermen all along the northern Gulf Coast have their secret culinary delicacies as well. Most anglers who have grilled a monster blackfish appreciate the fish’s sweet and delicate cheek meat, but only the truly old school fully uses the bounty of these waters and can turn a fish carcass into blackfish jelly. Generations on the coast have long kept this culinary knowledge secret, yet it was fading into “culinary backwaters” until a revival of interest saved these savory treats from vanishing. These are some of my favorites.

Perhaps shrimp throats, aka “spiders,” are among the more common and likely the easiest to go mainstream. On the larger, jumbo to colossal-sized white shrimp, there is a bit of sweet meat that is nearly always wasted. Easily freed by placing an index finger into the head along the bottom and pushing down, this tasty nugget when washed, spiced, breaded, and fried is an amazing twist on shrimp meat with a unique texture and becomes a perfect and delicious finger food.

Mullets are one of the rare species of fish to have a gizzard, similar to a bird. Mullets are bottom feeders and it is best to only use the gizzard from mullets caught near the islands offshore where bottoms are sandy and not full of mud. The mullet gizzard is a small little nodule about the size of a fingernail and located after the throat. It must be sliced open and thoroughly washed before being simply spiced, battered and fried, just like the shrimp “spiders”—a tasty treat.

Red snapper are highly prized along the entire Gulf Coast, but from the piers of Galveston, Texas, to Orange Beach, Alabama, the snapper throats are simply tossed out. Yet these throats on the larger snappers are filled with delicate meat between the pectoral fins and are almost always scraped off the fish stations into the water for crabs or pelicans. I knew of a group of cruisers from Pascagoula, Mississippi, that would often do the voyage to Destin, Florida, along the ICW and arrive as the Destin charter boats were docking and the fish was being cleaned. Florida’s charter captains always found it a bit curious that these Mississippi natives would walk up and ask for these discarded portions of the large snappers. That was until they tasted the snapper throats scaled, spiced, breaded, and fried.

There is obviously a theme here regarding the frying of these tiny leftover morsels of meat, but with reason: They’re delicious and have a sweetness to them not found in the other meatier portions of fish or shrimp that is accentuated by the spicy batters of the Gulf Coast. Ask anyone who’s tried the little thumb-sized scallop of meat above and behind a redfish’s eyes.

Go for it and try one of these Gulf Coast’s unique delicacies. A nice comeback sauce and saltines will certainly help for that first sampling.

By Troy Gilbert, Southern Boating Magazine April 2016

 

Day Four: George Dog Island and Scrub Island

Day Four: George Dog Island and Scrub Island

We left Anegada and arrived an hour later at a cluster of islands known as “the Dogs.” There were no open moorings at Great Dog Island (you can’t anchor because it’s a national park) so we decided to head over to George Dog Island, where we had a great time and saw some beautiful reefs—beware of the thousands of baby jelly fish! The lush vegetation on the tiny beach we visited formed what seemed like a personal natural hideaway. Under the hideaway, visitors have left behind balanced stacks of rocks, we added to the tradition and created our own.

From George Dog we headed out and cruised to Scrub Island Resort & Marina on Scrub Island, our next home for the night. Once all docked and the boats hosed down, we opted for some pool-side relaxing time. We lost ourselves in the vast blue of the horizon from the infinity pool and sat back in the saltwater jacuzzi—the cherry on top. The luxurious property offers multiple villas, hotel rooms, a dive shop and market—yet has the feel of a small and intimate property. Taken by the island’s natural beauty, we chose to have dinner at Tierra! Tierra! their outdoor restaurant. We enjoyed a large spread of foods ranging from jerk chicken wings, ribs to red snapper ceviche and fresh caught grouper as we listened to the rhythmic sound of steel drums—island music par excellence.

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