How can Gulf of Mexico red snapper stocks rebuild if the shrimp trawl industry kills and wastefully discards some 80 percent of 4-inch, juvenile red snapper every year?

That’s a question the Coastal Conservation Association put formally to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, while demanding the Council live up to its own target objectives to reduce red snapper bycatch in the shrimp trawl industry.

CCA brought to light that despite regulation and limits observed by recreational and commercial fishermen, Gulf red snapper stocks are continuing to decline at an alarming rate—due to the fact the Council “refuses to adequately implement measures to reduce waste in the shrimp fishery.”

Besides urging the Council to adopt regulations and fund research for more effective bycatch reduction devices (BRDs)—studies conducted last year indicate current BRDs reduce snapper bykill by a dismal 12 percent—CCA has announced it will organize an artificial reef program designed to increase Gulf snapper habitat.

For more details, visit http://www.joincca.org/press/2005/red%20snapper.htm

FS