Today offers both good and bad news. First, the bad news, and this applies to the upcoming red snapper season.
While the news is certainly no surprise, a notice of an emergency rule is being published in the Federal Register that allows National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries to calculate the recreational red snapper season separately for each state. The rule is designed to punish states like Texas that held their own and did not march to the beat of the drummer who was killing the recreational red snapper fishery.
The emergency rule will allow the feds to discriminate
against Texas, Louisiana and Florida by setting the days allowed at far
less than the stingy 28 days for states that parrot their red snapper
regulations to those of the federal government.
The expected number of days allowed for the maverick
states are 12 days for Texas, nine days for Louisiana and 21 days for
Florida.
The federal regulatory bodies boast that as a result of
their regulations, the stocks are rebounding. I would think that would
be a no-brainer with this recreational fishery being virtually shut down
for a number of years.
Think about it, beginning June 1, the first day of the
season, how many recreational red snapper fishing trips will take place
in the nine to 28 days allowed?
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has my full
support for having the backbone to not go along with the federal
regulatory bodies. If they had given in to the pressures to change their
regulations, we would have 16 more days to fish for red snapper this
year. Not worth it in my mind.
Now let’s look at some good news in our fishing world.
Saturday, lots of fish were being caught around Galveston. The surf near Eight Mile Road and caught some nice black drum
using dead shrimp for bait.The surf is full of big drum.
The Gulf Coast
Fishing Pier on Saturday and filled a 48-quart ice chest full of gaff top
to 4 pounds. Other anglers were catching sheepshead, lots
of slot drum and some slot reds.
Strong run of
black drum at the 61st Street Fishing Pier. Other fish caught were
sharks, whiting, bull reds and gaff top.
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