First, I realize that this is not a report so hush…
What kind of pressure do y’all see this fishery getting in the next few years? I know there are some longliner boats out there as well as some other commercial boats targeting them. Is this gonna be a fad rec fishery or do y’all think it will last and not be overfished. Not making any inferences…just generally interested in what folks think…
This is not a chawade…
We need total concentwation…
I thought they were on the endangered species list a few years ago…Can remember dating a gal that wouldn’t eat a places that served it on the menu…
He took the bait like a jugbelly redfish on an olive and white clouser.
They have been being fished by longliners for a while already since they re opend the fishery. But look at florida and the rec guys there. there is way more pressure there that there will ever be here and it is fine there. Also there will not be nearly as many bouy boats here i think that the fishery will be fine unless something dramatic happens.
Edisto,I’ll take you grouper fishing if you take me sword fishing.
More rec. fish get killed in one nice week in Florida than will be caught in a whole season off SC. We should be more worried about the black sea bass now that every Tom, Deel and Fritz can access them.
Frankly, I think that the number of fish taken by recreational fishermen in South Florida is alarming. I would like to see recreational fishermen show a little bit more restraint; the average size of swordfish is small, indicating that the stocks aren’t exactly in great shape to begin with. People get flamed for keeping a sail or a blue, but keeping a small sword is probably worse for the stocks. Just because it tastes good doesn’t make it OK to kill it.
I think the rec pressure will be moderate at best due to the distance offshore… I was wondering if once reports of the Swordfishery make it into magazines, newspapers, and www sources…more commercials will come here…
South Florida has a ton of rec pressure, but they only have to go 10 miles… I agree that they need to settle it down down there…a lot of fish are being killed from all that I have gathered…
This is not a chawade…
We need total concentwation…
Great Report!
Nothing but a “SMART-ELLIC”!
The Comms already know a lot more about our swordfishery than we as recs do. I don’t think we’re discovering anything new.
I’ve also heard some people call the Bump a “hatchery”. Don’t know if that’s true or not.
Also, nobody is catching anything big yet. However, the size of the fish being caught could increase as more people get geared properly and improve their techniques.
I remember only 2 or 3 years ago when catching a 200lber off Florida was a pretty big deal. Now, not so much.
I think the fishery will be safe until people start catching fish bigger than 65".
Right now…swording is new and cool. But after two or three 24 hour trips 80+ miles offshore to catch <50" fish it will settle down.
quote:
Originally posted by CrackerasscrackerI think the rec pressure will not moderate at best due to the distance offshore… I was wondering if once reports of the Swordfishery make it into magazines, newspapers, and www sources…more commercials will come here…
Cracker…there are quota issues here too.
I’m speaking conceptually here so don’t call out my “facts”.
A big concern is that NMFS has alloted (say) 10 million pounds of swordfish to be killed a year. Split 60/40 (comm/rec). If the recs don’t kill their 40% of that quota they will hand it over to the comms. The recs have not been catching our 40% and we are in danger of losing it to the comms.
It is important that we recs catch our quota (and report it) to keep it away from the comms.
Report your landings ASAP!!!
https://hmspermits.noaa.gov/permitidlandings.asp
They are no longer on the “do not eat” list. In fact, the SC Seafood Alliance and the SC Sustainable Seafood Initiative encourage eating swordfish. If ordering in a restaurant just make sure its local!
This is from a fact sheet put out by the SC Sustainable Seafood Initiative…
“The North Atlantic catch peaked in 1987 but by 2005 had decreased by 40% in response to management by ICCAT. According to the most recent stock assessment (2006) the swordfish population level had rebounded to a size of 99% of the maximum sustainable yield.”
“Current management includes a limit on total allowable catch, minimum size limits to allow an appropriate number of swordfish to reach sexual maturity before they are captured, and time and area closures to reduce by-catch and harvest of immature fish. In response to the recovery of the swordfish population, the 2003 total allowable catch was increased.”
It sounds like the fishery is being properly managed. If that keeps up, I would think that pressure from recreational fishermen should not be a problem.
It will be all good and cool until one of you guys on your CC meets the wrath of the ocean around 2 o’clock in the morning and get scared to death. All because it was slick when you left the dock. When that happens NOT IF then there will be less of the fleet and a hope everyone returns to the dock safely. The east wall in a CC is not for me yall are tuffer than most or Crazy. Im not passing judgement just my opinion. In the case of the longliners and big fish I fished the Valley last spring and watched them haul gear. I witnessed a fish much bigger than 200lbs slide over the side. Caught dolphin around them all day.
Personally I have to agree that only taking one fish from the population is not going to end the species. However I feel that as a representative of the recreational fishermen it is slightly hypocritical to bash and bash the commerical boys then go out there and bring a couple back to the hill. Thats just my opinion, no more no less. Have I killed a swordfish, yes, will I kill another one, Lord willing. But I wont bash the commercial guys for doing a job. If it wasnt American boats there would be Japanese and Koreans doing it.
quote:
Originally posted by muledriverIf it wasnt American boats there would be Japanese and Koreans doing it.
Hopefully not within 200 miles of our coast.
85 mile or 200 miles still the same population that was my point should of clarified.
quote:
Originally posted by muledriver85 mile or 200 miles still the same population that was my point should of clarified.
You’re right.
And the more I read about ICCAT and quota the more confused and concerned I get.
quote:Sounds like you're talking about me.
Originally posted by edisto-fisherIf you think people are afraid of the fog, you should see how scared they are of the dark,in the ocean,at night,all alone.
Prowler 306
Yamaha F225’S
quote:
Originally posted by GoatFrankly, I think that the number of fish taken by recreational fishermen in South Florida is alarming. I would like to see recreational fishermen show a little bit more restraint; the average size of swordfish is small, indicating that the stocks aren’t exactly in great shape to begin with. People get flamed for keeping a sail or a blue, but keeping a small sword is probably worse for the stocks. Just because it tastes good doesn’t make it OK to kill it.
Goat, I grew up in South Florida (Palm Beach) and was lucky that my Dad fished 5 days a week back in the 80’s, so I got a lot exposure. Back then you might see two or three dozen boats out on a given day.
Now, as i’m sure you know, you will see hundreds upon hundreds of of boats out packed up on a daily basis. Those fish have to run one hellva google eye gauntlet to get through Stuart, Jupiter and Palm Beach!
I think the fishery is getting crushed down there. The amount of sails, dolphin and hoo’s we have been catching over the past couple of years is not even a 1/3 of what we were catching back in the 80’s and even the mid 90’s.
Having said that, I would agree with Cracker that we should not be too worried about the rec fishing here because of the long run offshore.
“I don’t trust a man who doesn’t drink”
-Ernest Hemmingway
All the arguments y’all are making here are the same arguments made about the snapper/grouper limits being quashed because of supposed “overfishing”
Let me first say that I am not judging or condeming anyone with what I am about to say, so please take this into consideration when crafting a reply.
Carolina boy your comment about the pressure in florida, while true, falls on deaf ears with the NMFS and their tree-hugging agenda.
Greg1, I agree with your statements about the recs catching their quota. The same argument was brought up at the NMFS hearings a couple of months ago about the snapper/grouper limits. I don’t have any facts, but I find it very hard to believe that the recs are actually taking 40% of the harvest! Do you know how much that is? As EdistoFisher said, how many recs are actually knowledgeable and skilled enough, and have the balls to go Swordin’?
Goat, I’m not even going to comment on your quote.
just like with the snapper/grouper fishing…HOW MANY PEOPLE are skilled enough to go catch a limit of grouper on a regular basis?!?
The NMFS should be more concerned with the comm’s than the recs. Let the tree-huggers sit in the jetties 24-7 for a week, which I offered to them on the record at the first NMFS meeting, and take a look at the actual number and poundage of fish being brought home by recs. I think they would be extremely surprised and alarmed at how little the catch really is.
The facts don’t support the laws being imposed with “the best available data,” which, when queried by several people at the meeting, they could not give us exactly WHAT this data consists of.
The other thing that most people don’t realize is the SAFMC is charged with controlling the entire south atlantic coast…from NC to the southern tip of FLorida! There is NO WAY they can justifiably link them all together. Thankfully, though, it appears they are HOPEFULLY going to group NC/SC together and GA/FL together, rather than one big group.
They should really police the comms and lea
Nut3,
The more I read up on nthis the more confused I get.
It looks like the recs and comms are on the same team against the internationals/importers.
Apparently the long liners are going after tuna ($6/lb) and not catching swords ($3/lb) and the US is having to buy imported Swordfish to meet demand numbers.
I’ll read more on this and post what I find in a day or two.
I would think that the swords are much more migratory than snapper/grouper. I know the grouper move, but they take years to do so if they do because they are slow growing fish. The pelagics move much more up and down the coast, so the regional management of them is more reasonable in my opinion… and likewise, the pressure on them in florida is very much an issue for those of us who are interested in the sword fishery off SC.
I do not think the one-weekend fad this past weekend when there was no wind and mild temps is indictative of any kind of increased pressure on the fishery in the big picture either temporally or geographically. Like some have said, recreational catch of most of these fish that are said to have been, or are said to be, in trouble is just a drop in the bucket.
If the longliners are after tuna instead of swords because of prices of both, then great. Import the swords until the stocks over there are exhausted or alledgedly managed better- then the price of swords will go up, and our fishery here will get more commercial pressure. The commercial pressure is what has a lasting effect on any of these species because of the sheer scale of harvest when certain species are targeted or not.
I too think numbers like 60% comm and 40% rec. catch for swords in the SouthAtlantic region of the US are BS. The same as I think numbers close to 50/50 for snapper or grouper are total BS. The numbers come from assumptions and models instead of hard data. The rec numbers come from headboats that go out every day and do well on the bottom fish, and the rec numbers for HMS species would come more from voluntary reporting I would assume. With both, they extrapolate what they think the total rec catch is based on the number of permits/licenses in hand every year. It’s ridiculous, and it aids the commercials’ interests entirely to do it that way.
I see just as much commercial pressure behind the scenes at the management meetings and on the councils as I see or read any environmental interest