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Old 11-03-2010, 12:17 AM   #1
armandoz
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Fellow Spearos, Would you vote for a size increase on hogfish

now before you start bashing or what not. I was just curious in knowing how many of you would support a hogsnapper size increase without throwing a fit. ONLY CHANGE WILL BE the SIZE from 12in ( current ) to 14 ( propose.) Reason why I bring this up is because there is plenty of abuse going on out there.

I'm no marine biologist so I am not aware of the population of hogfish in South FLorida all I know is that we as South Floridan spearos do tax these fish quite a bit.

Any critiques opinions welcomed!

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Old 11-03-2010, 12:38 AM   #2
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Re: Fellow Spearos, Would you vote for a size increase on hogfish

If you are worried about the species numbers in the future, raising the size limit to 14 inches won't be much help. 14 inches is a prime size for reproduction in hogfish. If you're trying to keep the population strong, you don't go after the breeding population. Instead you might set a law of no taking hogfish between 14 and 18 inches long, generically speaking. I don't live in Florida right now and I don't know actual hogfish numbers or true breeding sizes, so I don't know what might or might not be needed to keep a healthy population going. I do know going after the breeding stock of a fish you might be worried about is not a good idea.
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Old 11-03-2010, 05:25 AM   #3
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Re: Fellow Spearos, Would you vote for a size increase on hogfish

thanks, but wouldn't you agree that (we) SF spearos go after the breading size hogfish as we speak right now since they fall above 12in anyways. I know what you tried to explain in your post but what I meant to say is maybe give them more time to reach a certain size. Or better yet on my behalf go after bigger hogfish perhaps 14+ because i know plent of 11in hogs get taken out in the process of almost being 12in.

So perhaps we are going over the breading population if it's already included in our daily legal bag size?
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Old 11-03-2010, 07:05 AM   #4
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Re: Fellow Spearos, Would you vote for a size increase on hogfish

I agree ,I quit shooting them unless I see a beast. The small hogfish are way too dumb, easy to shoot and offer little meat. The numbers in the gulf (under 60') also seems to be decreasing.
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Old 11-03-2010, 07:23 AM   #5
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Re: Fellow Spearos, Would you vote for a size increase on hogfish

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Originally Posted by armandoz View Post
thanks, but wouldn't you agree that (we) SF spearos go after the breading size hogfish as we speak right now since they fall above 12in anyways. I know what you tried to explain in your post but what I meant to say is maybe give them more time to reach a certain size. Or better yet on my behalf go after bigger hogfish perhaps 14+ because i know plent of 11in hogs get taken out in the process of almost being 12in.

So perhaps we are going over the breading population if it's already included in our daily legal bag size?
I'm not fully sure about what the prime breeding size is for hogs. I know there are records of 8in hogs reproducing, but they normally don't mature till they are quite a bit bigger. As far as if they produce more or less young when they get bigger, I'd guess they produce more eggs the bigger they get, like most other fish species. I don't know their rate of growth, but I do know they can live 10-11 years in the wild. If someone knows a size to age ratio then maybe doing a chart that gives the fish a few years of breeding time before they are eligible to harvest might be one of the best options to go with. Something like if hogs average 10 years of life and take two years to mature, then give them around 4 years of baby making time and around 4 years of spearing time.
Still, before any actions are planned or taken, there needs to be a reliable fish count done on hogs to find out what sort of conservation methods, if any, could/should be planned to maitain the current level of harvesting.
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Old 11-03-2010, 07:50 AM   #6
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Re: Fellow Spearos, Would you vote for a size increase on hogfish

I think they should make size limit 20 inches

I know that probably sound hypocritical because I shoot little 16 inch hogs pretty often but ....

where I live there are thousands and thousands of little hogfish, all over the reef there are areas where if you lay on the bottom you can count dozens of little hogfish, one little coral head may have a dozen or more around it

but there are NO big hogfish, I know someone will pipe in with a pic of 10# hog or whatever saying there here you just have to dive deep or whatever but the fact is a 10# hogfish is NOT a big hogfish

it would suck for a couple years but imagine how sweet it would be if 20 inch hogs where everwhere, like the little bitty hogs are now
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Old 11-03-2010, 08:25 AM   #7
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Thumbs up Re: Fellow Spearos, Would you vote for a size increase on hogfish

Quote:
Originally Posted by ny_er View Post
I think they should make size limit 20 inches

I know that probably sound hypocritical because I shoot little 16 inch hogs pretty often but ....

where I live there are thousands and thousands of little hogfish, all over the reef there are areas where if you lay on the bottom you can count dozens of little hogfish, one little coral head may have a dozen or more around it

but there are NO big hogfish, I know someone will pipe in with a pic of 10# hog or whatever saying there here you just have to dive deep or whatever but the fact is a 10# hogfish is NOT a big hogfish

it would suck for a couple years but imagine how sweet it would be if 20 inch hogs where everwhere, like the little bitty hogs are now
I agree COMPLETELY with 20" There would be soooo many more hogfish and they would all be larger!
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Old 11-03-2010, 09:12 AM   #8
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Re: Fellow Spearos, Would you vote for a size increase on hogfish

I would support the change from 12" to 14". I defintely agree with you that a lot of 10 and 11 in hogs get shot cuz people think they're legal. I have adopted a policy of if its borderline, then dont shoot it. BUT i know lots of people who still shoot short hogs cuz they think they're 12 inches.

However, some food for thought is that those same people will also shoot 11 in hogs thinking that they're 14 inches....
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Old 11-03-2010, 09:22 AM   #9
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Re: Fellow Spearos, Would you vote for a size increase on hogfish

14 inches?







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Old 11-03-2010, 09:42 AM   #10
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Re: Fellow Spearos, Would you vote for a size increase on hogfish

won't shoot one unless its a monster, im done having to clean the little bitches
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Old 11-03-2010, 09:52 AM   #11
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Re: Fellow Spearos, Would you vote for a size increase on hogfish

Yeah I completely agree with 14 inches, Ill be happy with 16 inches.
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Old 11-03-2010, 10:48 AM   #12
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Re: Fellow Spearos, Would you vote for a size increase on hogfish

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Yeah I completely agree with 14 inches, Ill be happy with 16 inches.
I stopped shooting them unless I see a big one.

I think 16 inches would be a good compromise.
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Old 11-03-2010, 10:55 AM   #13
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Re: Fellow Spearos, Would you vote for a size increase on hogfish

In my opinion closure for certain months like they do for grouper and other species will help them grow... I don't know how much they would grow per month... I have heard of certain fish grow an inch per month... Maybe its the same? I don't know?

But I believe that giving them a break for certain months will help their population thrive... IMO

All I see is a bunch of baby hogs and hardly any big ones in Biscayne Park...

I don't think a 2 inch increase of a size change will help them... I believe it would have to be certain time frame closure if we want to see bigger hogs...
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Old 11-03-2010, 10:55 AM   #14
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Re: Fellow Spearos, Would you vote for a size increase on hogfish

Yeah I highly doubt they would make it 20 inches though. 16 inches sounds right.
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Old 11-03-2010, 02:40 PM   #15
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Re: Fellow Spearos, Would you vote for a size increase on hogfish

Ill put it at 16"
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