One of the largest issues both commercial and recreational fishers face is getting both fishermen and regulators to have faith in the data, especially when in comes to Gulf of Mexico reef fish. Recently introduced legislation by Congressman David Jolly of Florida will hopefully lead to a more accurate count of red snapper and other reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Gulf Red Snapper Data Improvement Act recently introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Jolly will allow for third-party data collection of fish populations to be used for federal stock assessments, which could ultimately lead to longer red snapper fishing seasons for the recreational sectors.
“Nobody trusts the data anymore,” said Dr. Bill Hogarth, Director of the Florida Institute of Oceanography and a Board member of the Gulf Seafood Institute. “Fishermen are on the water everyday and they see what is happening. When you are doing a stock assessment now, you are working with data that is at least two years old. Things change. We have to get more real time data, and this legislation is a good start.”
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