Thread: I hope you like redfish...

Originally Posted by ChileRelleno

Some people will hate me for this...

I would support a 3-5 year ban on ALL Cobia fishing in US waters.
They really need a serious break from the pressure they're under.

I could get behind that or something like 3 off 1 on,

There's a bit of misinformation in that article. No such thing as a 12-14" redfish that is one year old. They can barely achieve that in an aquaculture setting in one year given perfect conditions and fed twice a day with high protein feed. Female Redfish DO NOT become sexually mature at 2-3 years of age. The reason for our upper slot limit size is to allow for recreational take and then protect the future broodfish which depending on sex and many other variables are 4-6 years of age and a small percentage are minimally mature. It's a nice step...

Originally Posted by ChileRelleno

Some people will hate me for this...

I would support a 3-5 year ban on ALL Cobia fishing in US waters.
They really need a serious break from the pressure they're under.

I'll stir the pot: Closure based on????
Cobia limit is the same for commercial and recreational, 2 per person per day, 33".
What indication do we have that they are being overfished?
My understanding is that the annual catch is pretty steady and neither the commercial or recreational quotas have been exceeded since being set back in 2012.

If you have fished for them for any amount of time you'd know they're being overfished. The numbers seen now during their Spring run are nowhere near what they used to be.

Originally Posted by jigslinger

If you have fished for them for any amount of time you'd know they're being overfished. The numbers seen now during their Spring run are nowhere near what they used to be.

Agreed we are now only allowed one slot red over here in North West Florida now.

CarlF, JigSlinger answered your question for me.

Originally Posted by ChileRelleno

CarlF, JigSlinger answered your question for me.

I'm on board with doing something about cobia too -- the stories my uncles have from that fishery in the 70s sound totally unbelievable by today's standards. I assume most of the cobia catch is NOT in federal waters. Wouldn't it be great to see all the gulf states do something proactive?

Aren't cobia a migratory specie? They are harvested along Mexico, Central America, and South American coasts. What effect could closures along the Northern Gulf Coast mean for those other fisheries? I don't know that other countries have regulations on harvesting in their domains. If less cobia are taken here in our fishery, will that then translate into more harvest of cobia for our neighbors, as an unintended consequence?

Coastal Migratory Pelagic Homepage :: Southeast Regional Office
Yes, cobia are considered a "coastal migratory pelagic" species as well as having a world-wide distribution, and they are caught both in state and federal waters.
Cobia - Interesting Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico and Coastal Mississippi


Some interesting data contained in this NOAA document pertaining to the Atlantic cobia closure...
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainabl...osure_faqs.pdf

Many people believe making cobia a gamefish will restore them to former levels, but the commercial take appears to only be about a tenth of the recreational catch which has been increasing for decades.
For sure these high dollar cobia tournaments aren't helping the fishing pressure.
Especially for an isolated population like exists in the Gulf of Mexico (think "local depletion").

Be careful what you ask for.