grouper-one more opinion
Started reading this thread - lots of issues close to my heart - I will add my two cents into the fray. My name is Ted Miller - I fish out of Puerto Lobos - lobosfishing.com
I first came to Puerto Lobos around 1980 with my neighbors from Mesa, Az. They had been coming to Lobos for twenty years and fished only for grouper. They quit fishing in 1981 after seven trips in a row with no fish. Today, the grouper populations are much better.
This is how I see it today:
Fish populations are primarily affected by environment - food availability, spawning conditions, natural predators, water conditions etc. There are natural cycles of the various species working out their relative balance in the ecosystem. Damming the flow of the Colorado River, and commercial fishing upset the food chain and has greatly changed the ecosystem in the Sea of Cortez. We have all heard and read stories from 50 years ago-the abundance of fish was incredible. Sport fishing (rod and reel) is part of man's influence. I believe the overall impact by sport fisherman is negligible, however a localized area can certainly be affected.
Our reefs have lots of groupers, we see them diving, we see them on sonar, and we have the thrill of catching them sometimes. I believe the gulf grouper populations in the upper Sea of Cortez are doing okay today. There would probably be a lot more fish if there were no shrimp boats, no trawlers, no long liners. These crews make their living from the sea - there is little to no enforcement of any fishing regulations - they believe if it is here today, take it - don't worry about tomorrow. This spring, within two miles from shore I watched fourteen sardine trawlers fish for five days in a row. One of the chase boats broke down so I was able to talk with the crew. Within a few hours each boat filled its nets. Then they would head to Guaymas to off load and come right back for more. Each boat holds 110 tons of fish! Last fall a local panga fisherman found a new rock full of groupers. Within a few days there was a fleet of six to twelve pangas anchored together all day, every day on a rock the size of a house. After about two weeks, no more fish were taken. I know of at least 75 big groupers that were taken off of that rock! I have also seen the by-catch on a shrimp boat. A handful of shrimp to a five gallon bucket of other stuff that is thrown over board. I am told of hundreds of groupers in the hold of a trawler. There are many more stories, however the point is a commercial operation, in one day impacts the fishery far more than a sport fisherman could ever do in a year!
For sport fishermen it comes down to ethics. How many fish are we are going to take at one time? To me wasting fish is wrong. Egos, bragging rights, thrills of the moment all contribute to wasting of fish at times. If I am sure all of the catch will be consumed-lets catch our limit. Many times we will catch more than we can use, then we can make a deal with the locals who consume all of it for sure. If the fish can be released, I will keep catching them for the fun of it. When the big groupers are piled up on the spawning reefs, and are very vulnerable, I will not allow over fishing on my boat, and have had several heated arguments on the water.
A word about releasing fish-I do not agree with venting a fish to be released-I do not know what happens but it seems to me if you puncture that part of a fish it might not be able to function correctly when it returns to depth. I have tied the anchor to fish by a light line and lowered them down and jerked hard to break the line and release the fish, believing that at depth the air bladder can compress and the fish can stay submerged. There are times when I see a big fish with ruptured blood vessels and protruded bladders - I am not sure if anything will save them when they are in that condition. When in doubt keep the fish, it is better than letting it die.
I believe all things in God's creation are meant for man's interaction, even groupers - we are endowed with discrimination to do what is right and we reap what we sow.
We all love this incredible Sea of Cortez - lets work to make it a better place for all of us now and in the future.
Started reading this thread - lots of issues close to my heart - I will add my two cents into the fray. My name is Ted Miller - I fish out of Puerto Lobos - lobosfishing.com
I first came to Puerto Lobos around 1980 with my neighbors from Mesa, Az. They had been coming to Lobos for twenty years and fished only for grouper. They quit fishing in 1981 after seven trips in a row with no fish. Today, the grouper populations are much better.
This is how I see it today:
Fish populations are primarily affected by environment - food availability, spawning conditions, natural predators, water conditions etc. There are natural cycles of the various species working out their relative balance in the ecosystem. Damming the flow of the Colorado River, and commercial fishing upset the food chain and has greatly changed the ecosystem in the Sea of Cortez. We have all heard and read stories from 50 years ago-the abundance of fish was incredible. Sport fishing (rod and reel) is part of man's influence. I believe the overall impact by sport fisherman is negligible, however a localized area can certainly be affected.
Our reefs have lots of groupers, we see them diving, we see them on sonar, and we have the thrill of catching them sometimes. I believe the gulf grouper populations in the upper Sea of Cortez are doing okay today. There would probably be a lot more fish if there were no shrimp boats, no trawlers, no long liners. These crews make their living from the sea - there is little to no enforcement of any fishing regulations - they believe if it is here today, take it - don't worry about tomorrow. This spring, within two miles from shore I watched fourteen sardine trawlers fish for five days in a row. One of the chase boats broke down so I was able to talk with the crew. Within a few hours each boat filled its nets. Then they would head to Guaymas to off load and come right back for more. Each boat holds 110 tons of fish! Last fall a local panga fisherman found a new rock full of groupers. Within a few days there was a fleet of six to twelve pangas anchored together all day, every day on a rock the size of a house. After about two weeks, no more fish were taken. I know of at least 75 big groupers that were taken off of that rock! I have also seen the by-catch on a shrimp boat. A handful of shrimp to a five gallon bucket of other stuff that is thrown over board. I am told of hundreds of groupers in the hold of a trawler. There are many more stories, however the point is a commercial operation, in one day impacts the fishery far more than a sport fisherman could ever do in a year!
For sport fishermen it comes down to ethics. How many fish are we are going to take at one time? To me wasting fish is wrong. Egos, bragging rights, thrills of the moment all contribute to wasting of fish at times. If I am sure all of the catch will be consumed-lets catch our limit. Many times we will catch more than we can use, then we can make a deal with the locals who consume all of it for sure. If the fish can be released, I will keep catching them for the fun of it. When the big groupers are piled up on the spawning reefs, and are very vulnerable, I will not allow over fishing on my boat, and have had several heated arguments on the water.
A word about releasing fish-I do not agree with venting a fish to be released-I do not know what happens but it seems to me if you puncture that part of a fish it might not be able to function correctly when it returns to depth. I have tied the anchor to fish by a light line and lowered them down and jerked hard to break the line and release the fish, believing that at depth the air bladder can compress and the fish can stay submerged. There are times when I see a big fish with ruptured blood vessels and protruded bladders - I am not sure if anything will save them when they are in that condition. When in doubt keep the fish, it is better than letting it die.
I believe all things in God's creation are meant for man's interaction, even groupers - we are endowed with discrimination to do what is right and we reap what we sow.
We all love this incredible Sea of Cortez - lets work to make it a better place for all of us now and in the future.
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