Current weather for Marathon, FL
Click here for a Local Weather Forecast
83
83
Dive Time with Tim Grollimund
Some change in hogfish size limit may be needed
E-Mail this story
Print this story
tool name
close
tool goes here
Posted - Thursday, September 13, 2012 06:03 PM EDT
Several hogfish, including a spanish hogfish, forage for food with a stingray. (Photos by Tim Grollimund)
Earlier this summer I was approached by a spearfishing equipment company to provide images for an educational publication.
I am not a spear fisher, so at first I didn’t have any interest. When I was about 13, I nearly shot my brother while we were hunting quail. He had pellets in the arm of his jacket. Since that day, I’ve had no interest in shooting to kill. So for me, it’s a natural extension not to spearfish. Heck, I don’t even take lobsters, and that’s about as easy as it gets.
As I thought more about the spearfishing company, it made sense from the perspective that an informed spearo is a good spearo. I sent them sample images, and we’ll see what happens. If I can help them educate people on species identification, I’m good with that.
While I respect their right to spear, it’s just not my cup of tea. Plus I’d have to mount the speargun on my camera housing, and there’s no room for it. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
I’m sure spearos have the same affinity for stalking prey as I do for capturing an image. Hogfish are a favorite of spearos, with good reason. I like to eat them too, so I can understand folks wanting to hunt them. Hogfish got their name because they root around the sea floor, like a hog roots around the barnyard. They are opportunistic feeders, like their barnyard counterparts, but feed mostly on crabs and mollusks. We have three species here: Spanish, spotfin and the big kahuna — Lachnolaimus maximus.
I have been following the size limit discussions for the last year or so, and I have to agree with some of the spearos. They don’t want the size limit bumped up to 18 inches. I have seen some discussions on a 14- to 16-inch change.
But nothing will happen until 2014, since the agencies involved must do a proper stock assessment before they can make the decision. I have only seen a few hogfish that would meet the new size limit — and I’m not telling any spearos where they are!
To fully grasp the issue, I went all the way back to the 1994 final regulation document, where the 12-inch/5-per-day rules were put in place.
Why is this important for the Keys? According to fishery statistics, in 2004 Monroe County accounted for over 63 percent of the trips on which hogfish were caught, with 44 percent of the total weight. On the average trip, the Monroe County catch weighed in at 68 percent of the total average weight per trip.
In 2011, just under 50 percent of the trips originated in Monroe County. Those trips now account for only 18 percent of the total weight, down from 44 percent. The average catch weight per trip now is only 37 percent of the average catch weight for the two coasts, down from 68 percent.
On the recreational side, the data collection was not as reliable for the total catch weight, according to the documents I read. But the average length and average weight figures were acceptable. There was no breakout for Monroe County, so we’ll compare the coasts.
On the east coast, the average hogfish tipped the scale at 2.9 pounds in 2004, peaked in 2006 at 3.1 pounds, and in 2011 came in at 1.8 pounds. On the west coast, the figures show a different trend. In 2004 the average was 1.8 pounds, peaking at 2.6 in 2005, and now stands at 2.3 pounds.
Average length data track with the weight: on the east coast, the 2004 average of 15.4 inches fell to 13.5 inches in 2011, while on the west coast the 13.3 inch length rose to 15.2 inches in 2011.
So when the lady spearo at the scoping meeting said she would never get a hogfish in the Keys if the limit changed to 18 inches, she’s right on the money. The biggest ones I’ve seen have been in deeper water.
Further, that 12-inch limit is on the cusp of the reproductive maturity for spawning. It stands to reason we won’t see any larger hogfish if the limit remains at 12 inches. There are a host of other variables in the equation that deal with fertility, transformation from female to male, color phases and other items we don’t have the space for here.
To me the essential point is this: if we don’t increase the size limit and let them grow another year or two, the chances of maintaining a sustainable fishery may be a huge issue in the future. The question is, do we go all the way to 18 inches? I don’t think that will fly.
The conservation agencies have the obligation to do the science appropriately to find the length, weight and maturity characteristics that allow a sustainable catch. Is that 14, 16 or 18 inches? In 2013, the science guys hit the water again to update and enhance the data set so a decision can be made.
As for sustainability, I found a good source about food fish. Blue Ocean Institute has a database with sustainability ratings under their Programs tab. Hogfish are in the caution zone. See www.blueocean.org/seafoods/snapper-hog-traps-spears/ for the details.
Hogfish are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/11130/0. They estimate as much as a 60 percent reduction in hogfish stock in some areas due to spearing. Barring some protective action by the powers that be, it might be a rough road ahead for a favorite local catch.
Tim Grollimund is a freelance photographer and PADI divemaster based in Key Largo. He can be reached at tim@timgimages.com or through his web site at www.timgimages.com. Tim is actively involved with the Coral Restoration Foundation and the Aquarius Foundation.