| 02 September 2010
FWC Commissioners meeting in Pensacola today voted to open the Florida West Coast Snook season "for catch and release only," and open the East Coast season for the regular limited harvest of Fall, 2010. If you were following the FWRI 'Options', that is, Option C for the East Coast and Option D for West Coast anglers.
Rick Roberts, Executive Director of the Snook Foundation was one of many angler representatives who brought the commissioners the most current information on the state of the snook fishery. "People tend to feel emotional about snook and snook-fishing. We listen with respect to all anglers, and try to present their findings and opinions in an uniform way. We are glad that we have quite a bit of factual information to share, and we feel that our voices were heard."
click on the image above to learn more about the Angler Action Program or use the trip data entry form
East and West Coast Angler reports, scientific reports, and catch reports all testified to the fact that the SouthWest Florida snook were hardest hit. Snook Foundation expects the decisions made by FWC Commissioners will help create a robust rebound of Snook. Following is some of the information provided by Snook Foundation which was considered in the decision-making process:
In February the Snook Foundation, with input from fishery biologists, started an online data program modeled on the log book currently in use by FWRI. Because of the unknowns surrounding the extent of the freeze on the snook population we wanted to do all in our power to help scientists track the outcome.
SnookWatch Summary
The short term data presented here come directly from 208 fishing trip reports submitted by anglers to the snookfoundation.org/data page between May 20 and August 30, 2010. We recommend that these figures be viewed simply as a snapshot of reports by concerned snook anglers. The catch data has been verified by phone. No inferences about the status or health of the Florida snook population can be implied from this short term data except what is reported here.Florida Total Reports - 358 anglers spent 1085.25 hours catching 932 snook
Catch Rate = 932/1085.25 or .859 snook-per-hour
23 zero catch trips were reported (23/208 = 11% zero catch).
The snook caught were sized as follows:
631 under slot
163 in slot
138 over slot
Reports for East Coast, West Coast and Monroe County are as follows:
East Coast: 104 reports
167 anglers spent 493.5 hours fishing
341 under slot
98 in slot
77 over slot
516 total snook
catch rate of snook per hour: 516 snook/493.5 hours = 1.04
West Coast: 103 reports
188 anglers spent 566.75 hours fishing
287 under slot
63 in slot
61 over slot
411 total snook
catch rate of snook per hour 411/566.75 = .72
Monroe County: 2 reports
2 anglers spent
25 hrs fishing, reported
3 under slot
2 in slot
0 over slot
5 total snook
catch rate of snook per hour 5/25= .2
Snook Season Poll
1811 anglers participated in the Snook Foundation poll between August 3 and 31.
Poll question: The Snook Season should...
Open as scheduled Sept-December, received 790 votes (43.6%)
Open for up to 30 days during this fall received 173 votes(9.6%)
Open for a shorter period, such as 10 days, this fall received 60 votes (3.3%)
Not open this year received 788 votes (43.5%)
Snook Foundation Statement
After the Freeze the Snook Foundation developed the Angler Action Program, with the help of FWC biologists. This is an online application for snook trip data that is expected to become helpful in stock assessment.
Since May,
208 verified trip reports tell us 352 stakeholders caught and released 932
snook; that’s about .86 snook per man hour, 17% of which were in the slot. Only 23 zero catch trips were reported: 10 on
the East coast and 13 on the West coast.
This is short term data, and I mention it only for the value of the
on-the-water reports.
Additionally, Snook Foundation has listened to our members and polled our
readers. We have found the most vocal support
for closure from individuals on the central West Coast. Even in that area there
is not a defined consensus.
We received votes in a recent poll from more than 1800 stakeholders: 43.6% said reopen the season as scheduled, 9.6% said reopen it for 30 days during the fall and 3.3 % said open it for 10 days, while 43.5% said leave it closed this year.
FWC Snook Scientists say there is no biological reason to close the season. Therefore, we have no reservations in supporting Option C … a fall season will not decimate a recovering snook population.
Additionally, FWC data shows that 98% of all snook landed including fish in the slot are released alive by stakeholders in the season.
Many anglers who have purchased a snook stamp want to have a crack at harvesting a snook this year and they are serious about it. In our experience, stakeholders who believe they are being treated fairly, play fairly. We trust active snook permit holders to make right decisions about harvesting in their respective fishing grounds this year, especially if they are given the freedom of choice.
The future health of fish populations here in Florida depends more upon preservation of habitat needed for larval and juvenile recruits than with additional protections for the adult fish populations. Snook Nursery and Juvenile habitat is shared by more than 280 species of game and forage fish including redfish, sea trout and invertebrates.
Snook Foundation asks that Commissioners continue the conservative management of the fishery and apply additional effort towards inshore habitat study and protection that will benefit snook and all game fish. ##
