Grouper Wars

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council may have agreed with the National Marine Fisheries Service's plan to shut down grouper fishing for three months next year, but go selling your offshore fishing gear. The fight is far from over.

Federal officials have been wrong, or let's say behind the curve before. Look at red grouper. The feds said the species was in trouble, so they dropped the hammer on recreational fishermen, then one year later we all found out that it was a big mistake.

Stock assessments take time, and as a result, fishery manages are often working with numbers that one or two years old. Any angler or charter boat captain can tell you that fishing pressure has slowed as a result of skyrocketing oil prices.

Whether that will factor into the Council's final decision, due later this year, remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure. The Tampa Bay recreational fishing community turned out in strong numbers to voice their concerns.

If the fisher kings are smart, they will stop and take another look at the numbers before they put a lot of people out of business. If they don't, they might just get hit with another lawsuit. The Fishing Rights Alliance (FRA) and the Florida Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) have capable lawyers.

What's next? No fishing in the Middle Grounds?