Need your help to help stop the illegal sale of cobia. Please send me a text or call (843-384-7321) if you see any cobia being sold in local restaurants. I have a contact with DNR who will follow up asap. It is illegal to sell inshore cobia.
If the very small group of anglers who are selling cobia can be stopped ( and identified) , as well as the restaurants involved with this practice this may reduce these captains bringing to the dock 4 to 8+ fish per trip to sell. Last year cobia was on the “daily special” in Bluffton and HHI at several locations . Thanks
While it is definitely illegal to sell the inshore cobia, the offshore federal waters cobia are legal to sell. I am sure this is the problem with managing the legal and illegal sale. Some restaurants and fisherman are following the rules while others completely disregard them. It will be hard to tell if cobia on the menu are legal or not for most people.
Someone told me that it is also illegal for charter boats to sell them (even if caught in federal waters) Is this true?
Per my DNR contact, You cant sell any cobia in sc cause its a game fish. If a restaurant has cobia on the menu it could be bought from another state legally through a wholesale seafood dealer. We will have DNR follow up on who sold it and where it was caught.#128032;
Miss Libby 2
26’ World Cat
i have been contacted by a captain with a land and sell license who understands from DNR in charleston he can sell cobia caught in federal waters. I will contact DNR in charleston on Monday and post their official response to clear up any confusion.
Miss Libby 2
26’ World Cat
Rpatterson, you have me curious now. Is it legal to sell offshore cobia in S.C.? What did DNR say about it?
Also realize that restaurants can buy cobia from the gulf as well as farm raised from central / south America. Seafood companies such a Inland Seafood carry is as a regularly stocked product and at 8-12$ a LB filled it’s not a terribly expensive fish. While I will agree that a no specie of fish should be illegally sold I would do a little question asking before calling Uncle Sam every time I saw the word cobia on a menu.
Sabalo 21 150 Yamaha (under construction)
Key West Stealth 150 V-max (SOLD)
quote:
Originally posted by Flat BottomAlso realize that restaurants can buy cobia from the gulf as well as farm raised from central / south America. Seafood companies such a Inland Seafood carry is as a regularly stocked product and at 8-12$ a LB filled it’s not a terribly expensive fish. While I will agree that a no specie of fish should be illegally sold I would do a little question asking before calling Uncle Sam every time I saw the word cobia on a menu.
Sabalo 21 150 Yamaha (under construction)
Key West Stealth 150 V-max (SOLD)
That’s right. Sounds like someone needs to go fishing more.
I think what Rpatterson is genuinely concerned with is,
The PLIGHT of the local Cobia population.
Carry on!
Thanks RP.
NN
quote:
Originally posted by Flat BottomAlso realize that restaurants can buy cobia from the gulf as well as farm raised from central / south America. Seafood companies such a Inland Seafood carry is as a regularly stocked product and at 8-12$ a LB filled it’s not a terribly expensive fish. While I will agree that a no specie of fish should be illegally sold I would do a little question asking before calling Uncle Sam every time I saw the word cobia on a menu.
Sabalo 21 150 Yamaha (under construction)
Key West Stealth 150 V-max (SOLD)
ding ding ding ding
Key West 2300 Bluewater
Rpatterson was clearly talking about the need to not kill the local Cobia, and removing a financial incentive is a smart step. If you see Cobia on a menu this time of year, and the restaurant doesn’t usually carry it, it may be a hint. Ask if it’s local caught. If they say yes, maybe it’s worth a call.
FWIW, I braved the chop on Saturday in the Broad and was rewarded with a very nice Cobia after about 10 minutes of the first lines in. Got her to the boat, took a pic in the water, a let her go on her way. I would estimate she was about 48"-50" based on the handle of the landing net. I will admit I thought about gaffing her, but I want to catch these for a long time to come, so we let her go. That was also the last bite of the next 5 hours of bouncing around out there. Other than one Sharpnose, of course.
All things being equal, I would rather be on the water.
Way to go Dan, good on ya 
Capt. Larry Teuton
912-six55-5674
lteuton at aol dot com
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Nice work Dan.
One of my best friends travels around the world setting up and studying commercial cobia fish farms. Mostly in 2nd and 3rd world countries. From Africa and Asia to Mexico and most recently Belize. They aren’t pond raised, they have huge net enclosures in open water. It is a very fast growing fish. Cobia in a restaurant could legally come from many places.
Capt. Larry Teuton
912-six55-5674
lteuton at aol dot com
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Larry, can you provide a link to your friend’s cobia farms? Iv’e seen big shrimp farms in Belize and would be interested in how they raise the cob.
oc
They are raising them in mass, big time in the Carribean. Apparently they are fairly easy to raise. I’m kinda bewildered as to how these fish are different from the ocean ones. Do these fish return to sea…?
Nothing like sticking your nose in others business…literally.
Hey Russell…good on you for bringing it up for the sake of keeping all parties honest. I suspect that its only a very small percentage of fisherman and restaurants that engage in the illegal practice. If nothing else it’s important to continue to remind folks of the need to limit overfishing the cobia. Given the large numbers of boats in the water around the county these days it’s only reasonable to expect serious declines in the local cobia population. For those who disagree, I would suggest you ask the locals of HHI and Bft. what they remember about chasing these fish 20, 30 and 40 years ago. It’s no where near the same.
quote:
Larry, can you provide a link to your friend's cobia farms?
I’ll send him an email and ask. He is the director of aquaculture at the University of FL. and chairman of the board at the FL Aquarium in Tampa, so he knows something about raising fish.
Capt. Larry Teuton
912-six55-5674
lteuton at aol dot com
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Just for the record there is no such thing as a SC land and sell license, you are either recreational(no sales allowed of any kind) or commercial. That said to sell cobia harvested from federal waters in SC (all cobia caught in state waters are illegal to sell)you would need to have a commercial license from DNR and a gear license (e.g. hook and line, etc.). You could only sell your daily limit of two legal size fish and you can only sell to a SC licensed wholesale dealer. No one other than a licensed wholesale dealer is authorized to purchase from a commercial fisherman and enter the fish into commerce. Under no condition can a fish be sold by a fisherman directly to a restaurant or other entity that is not also a licensed wholesale dealer. At present, no federal permits are required for SC licensed commercial fisherman to sell their catch of cobia through legal channels, but this is likely to change soon and will mimic the permits that must be obtained before selling wahoo, king mackerel, dolphin and snapper grouper species, some of which are limited entry. Here is the link for a cobia farm in Panama.
http://www.openblue.com/
Good going Dan, You are a Redfish champ and moving on to Cobia. Next time you are out and hook a Cobia try the DNR capture boat to see if they are on the water, they are trying to get some fresh brood stock for research and future stock enhancement for the Waddell Center. 297-2528 is the cell. I usually call when I hit the water to know they are in the neighbor hood. You can also get a fin clip kit from the Waddell center and turn in fin clips to contribute to the on going research. I have not fished for Cobia as of yet but plan on doing my best to help the Waddell Center get some new brood fish.
