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The St. Augustine Record: Whisper only: Red snapper opening?

June 19, 2018

We're so gun-shy of federal reef fish management, we don't want to jinx a possible opening of limited red snapper fishing off our coast by even hinting at it.

But looking at the bigger picture, it may be instructive to talk about where it's heading in case it goes no further — and we'll be able to point the finger exactly where the failure occurred for you down the road

But, if we were a betting newspaper, we'd bet we'll see an August opening.

Rep. John Rutherford's office called last week and forwarded a letter he's written to the National Marine Fisheries Service. The letter acknowledged Amendment 43 by the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council allowing for red snapper access in 2018.

It's important to understand that the SAFMC action does not occur without jumping through the NMFS hoops.

Rutherford's letter outlined several concerns we all have. The unending closure hurts tourism, seafood sales, charter businesses, marine manufacturers and other dependent industries.

"It is my hope the NMFS will approve Amendment 43 and announce a 2018 snapper season so businesses, visitors and anglers may plan for when they will have access to this crucial fishery," Rutherford wrote.

He was correct about a side benefit of an opening. In addition to the economic (and cultural in our case) benefit, he expressed hope that it would also provide "much-needed" (amen) data to conduct more accurate stock assessments.

No one in Northeast Florida knows more about the workings of the SAFMC than Captain Robert Johnson – including, and especially, its own members. He spends about as much time traveling the Southeast attending these mind-numbing management meetings as he does behind the wheel of his Jodi-Lynn charters. He's been recommended several times for inclusion on the SAFMC and kicked in the teeth just as many. Apparently, having an actual fisherman with decades of commercial, recreational and for-hire experience on the council might muck up the works. Bean-counters and political lapdogs are much more welcome.

If Rep. Rutherford wanted to make a meaningful difference in fish management, he should consider using whatever clout he has to get Johnson on the SAFMC.

Johnson's best guess is that the NMFS will open a two- or three-weekend season, most likely the first of August. The delay is bureaucratic, giving the NMFS 30 days to take public comment. And you can bet the "don't-hurt-the-fish folks" are piling on the lobbying pressure to stop it.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of snapper, just within a two-hour boat ride from the St. Augustine Inlet, are blanketing the local bottom to the point of pestilence. And anglers are beginning to see the other side of the issue: The snapper are eating other juvenile reef fish, we're counting on for "something" to fish for in future years – and doing additional damage to the intricate balance of marine reef life the feds are supposed to be protecting.

We hope to see you on the water in August. If not, we'll tell you why it did not happen, and whom you can thank — again.