BHB ScubaTroll
Contributor
In Miami they are not a plentiful as they are on the Eastern GOM. I have been on dives where there were so many, they could not be counted with any accuracy. I stopped at 3 dozen that were relatively stationary on that count (that was only one side of the wreck)...hlsooner:As for the Jewfish, I was simply making the point that I am suspect of the motives behind a new regulatory proposal that seeks to harvest 800 grouper in the name of research. Eight or even eighty fish, maybe. But 800? This seems at odds with the fact that is currently a crime to harvest one here.
The law was placed some 20 years ago due to over hunting... Prior to that time, they were hunted like any other game fish by divers (using a power head). 800 from the eastern GOM will not harm the ecosystem as much as you would think, and could help bring back the smaller grouper population that is dwindling fast in the GOM...
I have done my fair share of hunting GG before the laws were changed. I see no issue with 800 or more for research and food. I will leave it to the experts to decide how many they believe is needed from the vast numbers in the GOM...
It is rare that I dive without seeing one or more on every dive in the GOM. That is different when I dive the Atlantic. I would not jump to any conclusions on either coast if I was not actively diving both....