I think it is important that people be informed about the research. Just as fisherman are misinformed about the typical diet of GG, I think some of the local divers need to be enlightened about the research.
Fisherman see their fish being taken from their lines and naturally assume that this is representative of the typical GG diet (which it is not). Apparently divers have observed a few GG that appear to have died as a result of the catching and sampling efforts and seem to extrapolate this to a significant mortality (or might even claim that we should have zero tolerance of accidental/incidental mortality).
Isn't it ironic, that some of these same people, think nothing of heading out in a large, fast, diesel powered boat that is pushed through the water by a propellor that is perfectly capable of accidentally killing a manatee or a turtle. If we are going to take a "zero tolerance" stance for accidental mortality associated with our chosen marine activities, then we all better get in shape and start paddling kayaks out there...
Incidentally, anyone reading this post in Florida could also be considered to have some responsibility for the deaths of GG. Do you people have any idea how many large GG were killed in the FPL cooling pond facility in Ft. Pierce last year?? The pictures were obscene, and the deaths were not reported promptly as required and the tons (literally) of dead fish were thrown in dumpsters and discarded and were not made available to be used by the scientists.. A terrible shame...So even flicking a switch in Florida has impacted this species.
I hope this is enough of a reality check to allow reasonable people to put the research into some sort of perspective.
Some of the information posted in this thread is not factual; for example there was mention that a permitted take of 400 GG had been authorized. I would challenge anyone to support that claim with any evidence. I am also unaware of a reliable method to age the fish without sampling of dorsal spines or otoliths (ear bones). Incidentally, I know the scientists would have loved to have applied both methods to all those specimens in the FPL kill that was reported not too long ago.
If people would like to make a positive impact, I think they should keep an eye out for the tagged fish and try to read (and report) any numbers from the tags. Reporting any mortalities, particularly of tagged fish would also be beneficial.