Thread: Hogfish
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Old 11-29-2016, 08:59 AM   #32
slowboat
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Key West
Posts: 302
Re: Hogfish

KMoose brings up a good point regarding sales , just 10 years ago almost all hogfish harvested in the Keys , actually stayed in the Keys and it was sustainable , but when the demographic of harvesters and buyers began to change , most coming from Miami and our fish began being exported to Miami , the pressure ramped up.
The Keys can never feed the amount of people who desire seafood from Miami , it is mathematically impossible .
Being the "bread basket" for Miami is a losing endeavor .
But yet it is happening , first came some amazing freedivers who came and dominated the outer bar with their skills ,
Before their arrival there were actually few full time spear fishermen , and while good we were not as good as the Miami crew .
We would get on a spot , get 3 out 5 groupers and move on (using tanks)
There were always fish left on the spots , we did not feel pressure to take them all , since we actually lived here and could return often . We were also taught never to over work a spot , "fish attract fish " was the adage , and it works well .
Not the case with our Miami crew , they fished here now , but still lived in Miami ; and felt the need to "load the boat" for a profitable trip, so every grouper is harvested off the spot. Not thinking about the future trips but just the "immediate now".
A new to here "local" showed them the outer bar , it bit him in the ass also.
Soon the Miami crew had their own boats and permits and did not need that person anymore.
The closure screwed things up even more , the closed period did not include the month of May when they were still spawning , so on the 1st of May , while the groupers are still aggregating and full of roe , they die . 4 months of time being patient wasted in a few opening days. the goal was releasing fertilized eggs and it did not come to pass.
This affected other aspects of the grouper fishery also, the groupers who would have swam away after spawning , either going deep or migrating to the inshore areas and providing a steady supply of fish throughout the summer.
Those fish did not show up since they were already in a cooler.
Then the Miami yellowtail boats showed up using a method called "power chumming"
100 lbs of chum at a time does something to fish that is outrageous.
They feed like there is no tomorrow and that is their fate, ungutted they are shipped to
Miami , one boat just pulled 980 lbs of yellowtail in 4 hours .
Insane , the method also had other results , the Bermuda chub population EXPLODED.
Where we used to see just a few , no bigger than your hand , they are now trash can lid size and on each spot by the hundreds , dominating the food sources and displacing the yellowtails and blue runners . Aggressive and willing to swim farther for food.
Answer by the powerchummers ? Add more chum , so while the chubs are on the bag you can get a bait out to the yellowtails.
Then the sharks came , where you used to see a few sharks a year , they live there constantly , and are aggressive towards divers.
So , many local divers started working farther inshore , I targeted hogfish since they are plentiful in the area I fish , but apparently not elsewhere.
So , yes , changing the markets that were sold to , changed our fishery and the demographic fishing it.
The establishment of the "Industry " of ECO politics by the arrogantly unqualified , who fail to have any real experience has damaged the fishery even more ,
From the incomplete spawn season for grouper doing more damage than good, now hogfish are open during mini season and Sanctuary areas that cause fishermen to concentrate rather than spread out their efforts , ineffective rules and lack of enforcement of existing ones .
They sit in their offices and make up more rules based on speculation .
Ignore fishermen with decades of practical experience because they don't have a degree.
All I can say is I am grateful I got to fish before all these changes happened .
So , yes , changing the buyers , changed the fishery.
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