Gag Season Extention: Is It A Worthy Cause?

[Scoop Sea]

Hey Ya'll:

I live in Wakulla County and fish out of Wakulla and Franklin Counties. In turn, I am effected by the Special Gag Grouper Season that runs from April 1 - June 30 in State Waters. Unfortunately, it seems like we have had a lot of what I call "unfishable" days for us recreational fishermen. I can't tell you how many days have had a Small Craft Warning, but it sure feels like way too many, especially given the fact that we only hvae 90 days to fish the State Waters for gags off of Franklin, Wakulla, Jefferson, and Taylor Counties.

I am thinking about trying to get the FWCC at their June meeting to allow us to have the total number of "unfishable" days added back on after the June 30 closing in these Counties. Let's say there ends up being 9 days by which a Small Craft Warning was issued in one of those 4 Counties during the 90 day season, I would propose that we be allowed 9 more days of fishing after the June 30 season. These days could fall in right after the June 30 season, or maybe we could have three 3-day weekend seasons (using the 9 day example) spread out, or maybe we have the days added on during the fall Oct-Nov timeframe. I don't know, but it just seems to me that if the total catch amount proposed equals a certain number and they figure it will take so many days of fishing to reach that number, and the number of days was not actually reached due to inclement weather,there should be no harm/foul adding those days on later.

So, here's the question: is this even worthy of the effort, i.e. would this approach be supported by my fellow recreational fishermen? It seems to me that it would have an economic benefit to these counties, all the while, giving us more chances (not really more in the big scheme of things) at getting some gags.

I talked to FWCC staff and they said that the concept makes sense, but the Commission would need to see a lot of support and there are never any guarantees.

So, what do ya'll think, is it a worthy cause and worth the effort?

Thanks for your input.

Chris

[fireant21]

They would be spending a lot of political capital to address an unusual year weatherwise. I personally would recommend they keep their powder dry for bigger battles to come with red snapper issues and an expansion of the gag season down the road. Dont want to give the GMFMC any ammo to say FWC is managing our fishery in a knee-jerk manner, (unlike GMFMC seem to do). Just my .02

[bman]

It sounds like a great idea and would support it...
But I think they might run into practical issues with the subjective nature of weather.
How often is NOAA wrong? A lot in my experience.
I think our better bet would be to argue that the recreational harvest is limited because of the weather and the season should be longer.

[Mister Mullet]

Maybe a look-back at sea conditions over a 10-year period to get an average number of unfishable days and then extend the season accordingly. However, what's not fishable to one person might be just fine for another. Depends on the size of the boat and the amount of discomfort an angler is willing to endure. IMO, any seas higher than 4 feet are unfishable, but that's just me. My kind of day is when I can look over the side and see me looking back...and not chumming.