Two years after a system of shares for commercial fishers was instituted in the Gulf, observers say stocks of the desirable fish are improving. The shares, distributed in 2007 at no cost to the anglers, were based on their 10 best consecutive annual catches from 1990 to 2004.
A more complete analysis, due out in October, is expected to confirm the trend in more detail. Andy Strelcheck, a biologist for the federal fisheries, told the Chronicle's Matthew Tresaugue that the share system has contributed to improvement of snapper stocks, as has the shrinking of the Gulf's shrimping industry following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Shrimpers often unintentionally trap other species, including snapper, in their nets, contributing to the decline.
All this rates as good news for Gulf Coast residents who enjoy snapper on the plate, and for the overall health of the Gulf ecosystem. But there is much more to do to create a sustainable supply, according to Holly Binns of the Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonprofit organization that closely tracks stewardship of the world's fisheries. We urge that her views be given a full hearing.
Binns' immediate concern is the greatly expanded volume of recreational fishing and the unknown toll it is taking on stocks of red snapper across the Gulf. She says that no one has a good handle on the exact number of recreational anglers across the Gulf, and that there's no effective way of managing the catch taken by these fishermen.
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