Who Doesn't Hate Jewfish?

[kelemvor]

I don't hate them. I'm a tourist, and not a fisherman - that's probably the difference. They're my favorite critter to encounter in the water.

Nice video as usual, dumpsterDiver.

 

[letterboy]

Who doesn't hate Jewfish?
I don't.
I think they're quite tasty, actually, and I can hardly wait for a season on 'em to open again.

Rick

We had it in Belize.

Free diving spear-fisherman got it for us.

Delicious!

 

[PeterNBiddle]

Everything was salvaged except for the glove and the fish. The shaft was bent, but it may be able to be straightened and re-used and he broke the knob off his reel as well. Those giant fish are very cool, but they wreck a lot of gear.

I love this. I love that you guys are playing hard at a hobby that takes a lot of skill and persistence (I impressed the hell out of myself free-diving to 65 feet and turning right around), I love that the fish take advantage of the situation, and I love that you take it in stride.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I love this. I love that you guys are playing hard at a hobby that takes a lot of skill and persistence (I impressed the hell out of myself free-diving to 65 feet and turning right around), I love that the fish take advantage of the situation, and I love that you take it in stride.

Thanks, I am not anywhere near as good of a freediver as the guy in the video. However, I have to admit, I never thought of it as a "hobby".

 

[100days-a-year]

Uh,documented fact that powerheading them was less than a factor.From the guys at NMFS who did the research of catches in the Gulf and Atlantic it was recreational hook n line fishermen that took the huge majority.I don't particularly care for them,I'd rather eat gag or scamp of the groupers.

Video illustrates the dangers of providing food around predators.

 

[Superlyte27]

I look at it as payback for all the years that people power headed them to near extinction.

Those were the good ole days. I wish the state would open up a lottery on them like what happens with Alligators.
Guess what a large Jew Fish eats? About 100lbs of grouper and lobster per day. And they're friggin everywhere.

 

[tomfcrist]

Uh,documented fact that powerheading them was less than a factor.From the guys at NMFS who did the research of catches in the Gulf and Atlantic it was recreational hook n line fishermen that took the huge majority.I don't particularly care for them,I'd rather eat gag or scamp of the groupers.

Video illustrates the dangers of providing food around predators.

What I am referring to is the guys that used to go out during the spawn aggregation and power head 20 300lb fish at one time......and you can bet your backside that it was a huge factor.

 

[100days-a-year]

No in fact it wasn't,the numbers don't lie
Recreationally in the Gulf, between 1979 and 1987: 2,570,389 pounds--the majority of those were taken by hook and line (personal communication with NMFS agent). 69,341 individual fish averaging 37 pounds each.

Commercially in the Gulf, between 1979 and 1987: 698,315 pounds--13% taken by spearfishermen--70% taken by handline--2% trawl--15.1% longline/buoy

These numbers all came from Amendment 2 / Gulf Council

Similar stats can be found for the Atlantic side.So even though it looks bad and targeting spawners isn't smart the facts don't support the predjudice.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

Superlyte,

Fish and lobster populations were well in balance back when the Jewfish were thriving, so it is a completely wrong statement to suggest that restoring the goliaths would somehow decimate the reefs. I also have heard that recent research suggests they do not eat nearly as much predatory fish and lobster as previously thought, but I would leave it to others with more definitive information to discuss that.

Simple fact is that you are hunting underwater where there are predators that might exploit your kill. Should we eliminate the sharks, too? Barracudas? Where does it end? They are slaughtering wolves in the west under the myth that hunters will have "more" elk to kill.

Killing off the all apex predators in an ecosystem just so we can more efficiently kill off selected prey does not strike me as good sense in any way.

Take a cue from DD, who hunts well while dealing with these giants, takes it in stride, handles himself well, and still manages to feed his family. He also, even with his frustration, understands the incredible, unique thing we have here with approachable goliaths.

Personally, I dive to experience the ecosystem and getting close to these fish is a highlight of diving anywhere in the world, I can tell you. A spearing season would ruin all of that as the fish would never let divers get close.

Hey DD, that is a great video. Incredible vis that day and the hunter's freedive just blew my mind!

 

[Rick Murchison]

Sorta pointless to argue the statistical significance of who to blame for the Jewfish's demise. I'm satisfied that our (spearfishers & powerheaders) contribution to the problem was significant, though the population would have been decimated by recreational and commercial fishing anyway... might just have taken a few months more. All I can say from personal observation is that when I left the gulf in '69 for a navy career there were plenty of jewfish, and when I returned in '91 they were nowhere to be seen. It's been a great pleasure to see their recovery, and in my opinion the population has recovered to the point we should be harvesting some of 'em. I'd like to see a 'slot' of 24 to 36 inches or so, which are the tastiest ones anyway, perhaps two fish a day for starters with monitoring & modification to find the sustainable fishery level.

Now, if we can teach 'em to eat lionfish...
Rick

---------- Post added November 25th, 2013 at 10:04 AM ----------

...A spearing season would ruin all of that (approachable fish) as the fish would never let divers get close...

I don't think so. One of the reasons we harvested really big Jewfish in large numbers was that they were fairly easy to get close to.
Rick