CCA President Gus Schram helped start GCCA-Louisiana 25 years ...

New red snapper study offers signs of hopenew study by Dr. Bob Shipp, head of marine sciences atA the University of South Alabama, and Dr. Steve Bortone,the new executive director of the Gulf Council, suggests that redsnapper stocks in the Gulf of Mexico are far from decimated. Infact, their research indicates that snapper are thriving due to thecreation of the largest artificial reef system in the world and theyclaim that evidence to the contrary may be the result of outdatedscientific models.Much of the Gulf of Mexico was once a featureless plain, butmore than 5,000 oil rigs off Texas and Louisiana and 20,000artificial reefs off Alabama have been added over the past 50years. For a species such as red snapper, which tends to concentratearound hard formations, the new structures opened upthousands of square miles of new habitat and dispersed the populationinto areas outside its historical center. The research byShipp and Bortone indicates that the models being used by theNational Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) that show red snapperare severely overfished are not adequately accounting for thenew structure.newsResearch indicates red snapper stocks may be in better shape than previously thought“We’ve heard anecdotal evidence of a thriving Gulf red snapperpopulation from our members in the fishing community forquite some time now,” said Patrick D. Murray, vice president ofCoastal Conservation Association (CCA). “This new report offersan interesting explanation for it. The research by Dr. Shipp andDr. Bortone is an indication that the anecdotal evidence shouldbe examined more seriously.”The new study, published in Reviews in Fisheries Science,comes at a time when recreational anglers are limited to two fishper day during the shortest red snapper season ever in 2009,and offers hope that red snapper may be in far better shape thananyone thought.“This research should be thoroughly examined by NMFS andother scientists,” said Dr. Russell Nelson, CCA Gulf Fisheries consultant.“Recreational anglers have proven that they are willingto follow the best science for the resource, but it is incumbenton federal managers to ensure that we do indeed have the bestscience available.”Give BigTrout CPR!CC A LO U I S I A N ABy Chas Drost,Lake Charles Chapter PresidentCPRNo that’s not what I’m talkingabout. It means Catch,Photograph, & Release —— a conceptdeveloped by the Lake Charles Chapter of CCA and now coming toyou statewide.“We started this as a program to promote the good fishery wehave on Lake Calcasieu and to do something that returned thesebig fish back to the water,” said Rusty Vincent of Lake Charles.“The more big fish in the water, the better the overall fishery willbe. Other than conventional & acoustical tagging programs, thisis the only program in the nation that we know of that calls for therelease of big speckled trout.”Every CCA member is automatically enrolled in the free program,but only CCA members may participate. To participate, youmust take two (2) pictures of your fish. First a picture of your fishon a provided official STAR ruler sticker, and second, a picture ofyou holding the fish. You should then email both photographs toCCA Louisiana. You must provide your name, contact information,as well as length of the fish, and where it was caught andreleased.A winner will be chosen each month and be featured in theCCA Louisiana “On the Line” newsletter. Each winner will also beawarded a rod & reel combo or other CCA paraphernalia. At theend of the year, the longest trout released will win a free replicamount of your fish with a plaque.You may enter as many pictures as you wish and are eligibleto win every month. In case of any ties, the earliest entrantbecomes the winner.For more information, go to www.ccalouisiana.com.C AT C H • P H O T O G R A P H • R E L E A S EkidshotsFuture CCA president Brooks Drost proudly wears his new fishing shirton a trip with his father, Lake Charles chapter president Chas Drost.sponsored by Louisiana Fish FrySaturday, April 18The DockSlidell, LAGet the official rules and entry format CCALouisiana.com!kidshotsApril/May 2009 On the Line