Canaveral Fishing Report with Captain Scott Bussen

Normally, I write a monthly fishing summary for the past month and a forcast for the upcoming month, but this month I'm going to do something a bit different.

Although this is the April edition, what follows is no April Fool's joke. Believe me, I fully intended to throw an April Fool's prank into this column until I attended a recent meeting of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) in early March.

According to the SAFMC, gag (gray) grouper and vermillion snapper are currently undergoing overfishing. According to the guidelines of the Magnuson-Stevenson Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act, the Council must end overfishing within a one year period once overfishing is identified. To put it in a nutshell, the yearly gag grouper quota (both recreational and commercial) is going to be cut in half. The fact that the quota is going to be cut in half is relatively non-negotiable. What is not set in stone are the management alternatives that govern the harvest of the quota. These alternatives are part of Amendment 16 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan.

There are many alternatives under consideration, but the preferred management alternative includes a four-month spawning closure from January through April that applies to both recreational and commercial sectors. This includes all shallow water groupers (gag, black, red, scamp, red hind, yellowmouth, tiger yellowfin, grasby, and coney). Basically, you won't be able to keep a grouper for four months. In addition to this, there will also be significant bag limit reductions for the recreational side.

If this at all concerns you, go to SAFMC.net and check out the Amendment 16 alternatives. Through a series of public meetings, the Council will conduct public hearings for Snapper Grouper Amendment 16. The meetings will be held May 7th in Homestead; May 9th in Port Canaveral; May 12th in Brunswick, GA; May 13th in Charleston, SC and May 15th in New Bern, NC. I urge you to attend one or more of the meetings to voice your opinion.

Enough of the serious stuff.

On a ligher note, it is April, the best fishing month of the year. Pick a favorite offshore fish and go fish for it. If it swims offshore East Central Florida, you can probably catch it in April.
See ya on the pond (or at the meetings).


Book a charter with Captain Bussen at:
www.fishrelentless.com


Also checkout the article that was published in The Beachside Resident after Scott took our crew snapper fishing last year. Read article