Walt Stearns:
“FYI – Issue 4 (UWJ-issue4.pdf) of the Underwater Journal is now available for download.
INSIDE:
Pacific’s Giant Octopus
Destin Jetties – A simple shore dive that can offer plenty of fun.
Jupiter’s Hole-in-the-Wall – Deep water, big thrills
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary – More there than meets the eye.
Out of the Gear Bag - Suprema LED Target Light
DVD Review – Discover California Diving
REEF Survey in the Exumas
Click:
www.underwaterjournal.com followed by Download Latest Issue (UWJ-issue4.pdf) from our home page.“
Also, be sure to tell a friend.
Mr. Stearns,
It appears you did did not come away from the Goliath Grouper meeting nearly as enlightened as many others did.
There are numerous innacuracies in this article that need to be rectified.
First... Commercial industry representatives and leaders have stated emphatically time and again that they do NOT want anything to do with any type of GG harvest.
So without a commercial market for meat there is little incentive for widespread poaching.
Second... Claims by environmental extremists of widespread poaching are un-substantiated and unprooven.
There have certainly been individual cases of poaching reported on GG just as there are isolated reports of poaching on other species as well.
Third... Claims that GG are not abundant in there historical ranges around the world are correct but I'm not sure what this argument has to do with events in the United States???
Other countries are fishing ALL of there fish to dangerously low levels.
They have extremely poor management and even poorer enforcement.
In addition... "your" claims certainly go against this government report:
The status report on goliath grouper can be read here:
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdf/Fin...th_Grouper.pdf
Fourth... I'm really disturbed by your seeming disdain for spearfishing.
You "claim" that you used to be a spearfisherman but I find that highly unlikely.
If you did, then you would know that spearfishing is the most selective form of harvest there is. There is virtually no bycatch or waste because a spearfisherman can see exactly what type of fish he is targeting as well as the size.
And, there is virtually no damage to essential fish habitat.
Fifth... You claim that there are "other" ways to collect needed scientific data.
I somewhat agree but as you heard at the meeting, these methods are very limited and may not yield the results needed or claimed.
A perfect example is "Fin Rays" for aging.
Fin Rays work well for juvenile fish up to about 6 years old. Beyond that age the rays become cloudy and un-useable in which case otolith samples must be used for ageing.
You also claim that fish from Red tide events should be used for study.
I agree entirely but you seem to have
this misconception of widespread GG deaths during these events.
I live near Tampa Bay Florida which was the scene of one of the worst Red Tide outbreaks several years ago. I drove my boat around at length looking at the types of fish killed.
I only saw one GG floating in the bay.
IN addition... these events are very random and only occur every few years at different locations.
It was pointed out in the meeting that the information we have on young individuals (less than 6 years old) is fairly extensive although limited geographically to South West Florida.
Unfortunately... the data on large animals is severely lacking.
And finnaly... you seem to have the mistaken belief that spearfisherman and anglers are some bloodthirsty lot looking for the extermination of Goliath Grouper.
This is quite simply laughable. Nearly all fisherman are sportsman.
NOBODY wants to see GG taken down to dangerously low levels ever again!
I personnaly think that a big GG is one of the coolest fish to see underwater and I want my son to enjoy the things I have seen and done underwater.
Nobody is seeking to "annihilate these fish by illegal means or legal loopholes" and for you to insinuate otherwise is both offensive and uneducated.
There is much we do not know about GG that we need to learn.
It was stated that the last GG assesment in 2004 showed a very wide cone of uncertainty with regards to GG recovery.
On one side of the cone it showed that GG may be recovered to the benchmark of 50% Spawning Potential Ratio several years ago. On the other side of the cone it could be that GG may never recover to 50% SPR!
We obviously need to develop better science with which to make sound management decisions. The way to do that is to harvest enough animals to gain that knowledge.
Just like they do with every other fish...