Research by our South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has highlighted an impending crisis with our inshore family of spawning cobia due to overfishing. SCDNR and its Waddell Mariculture Center has become a national leader in cobia DNA research working closely with our local charter boat and recreational fishing community. Genetic analysis has identified two local families of cobia, one that comes in to spawn and one that stays out at our artificial reefs. Neither one tends to migrate north or south or mixes significantly with other families. While the offshore population appears to be in good shape, the spawning family that comes into our Port Royal Sound System shows a steady decline in the wild fish and an increase in the ratio of stocked fish. Because of the genetic difference between the two families, if we deplete one it may not be repopulated by another for many years. Although we fishermen want action, SCDNR is not empowered to set fishing regulations or limits, only the fishermen, enlisting the help of the legislature can do that.
On Friday May 8th at 6 PM, Dr. Michael Denson the head of SCDNR?s Marine Resources Research Institute will give a presentation at the Port Royal Sound Foundation Maritime Center at Lemon Island detailing the background of the crisis and offering solutions to the fishermen. Unless one has heard Dr. Denson?s presentation it is very difficult to understand the complexity of the problem and make rational cobia management choices.
Please use any influence that you have to convince the charter captains to adhere to catch and release of the inshore spawners. I suspect most of their clients would just as soon eat tilapia.
Fished with the fleet at a couple rips on Sunday. Water temp was stubborn at 69. No shark bites, no cobia. I didn’t not see a single boat land one. Menhaden were around but not big schools. May be a little early yet for the big numbers of Cobia. Or, there may not be big numbers…
I did catch two spanish mackeral on sabiki rigs, one per rig on two separate occasions. That was a first. Those guys are tough on a sabiki rig. Hit the creeks on the way back in and fished a couple spots that are usually kind. Found some 32" reds at high tide along the grass. I free lined a couple menhaden while fishing finger mullet under a cork. The big reds pulverized those guys and we had a wild time for a little while. Biggest reds I have ever caught in two to three feet of water. I love watching them push a wake and you see the finger mullet take off in a panic only to be inhaled by a big red. It wasn’t Cobia, but it was a helluva good time.
All things being equal, I would rather be on the water.