A difference?

    After talking to some dive buddies over my last few trips out, each time the subject of changing hunting conditions/environment came up. How fish that used to be very easy to target, and curious by nature, are acting very shy and much harder to approach close enough for a responsible shot. Also the perceived decline of certain species that used to be abundant, based on much less frequent sightings is something that stood out to me.


    It seems like many reefs are becoming predator free zones, populated only by ornamentals, lacking of all but the smallest of predators. Often only consisting of species not desired by fishermen/divers. Then on the flip side of that are reefs that are stacked with Goliath Grouper the size of small cars. With no real predators once they reach that size, I think they are putting quite bit of pressure on other predatory reef fish.


    Has anyone else noticed a difference in target species behaviour and hunting environment in the last 5 years? I'm not just interested to hear from divers in my area, I'm interested to see if others are noticing changes in their locale as well.


    Curious to see what your observations are.


    Dive safe,


    G

    Edited once, last by gerald ().

    Dan, I'll make some edits to make it more general.


    I'm curious to see if this not just local to SE FL, but also happening elsewhere.


    That said, have you noticed a change since you started diving the area?

    The last couple of times out I have seen Goliaths where you'd never expect them to be. At the same time I have seen shallow water grouper not get spooked as easy as before. I guess the closure is working...maybe they should open up Goliath season????

    Edited once, last by Mariner ().

    i would like them to open a goliath season of one or two per vessel for a few days a few times a year...rec only...that would at least make them wary and less annoying

    i like to spear fish

    I noticed a change here in Ft. Lauderdale. Definitely less fish than 5 years ago.


    Giant swarms of grunts up and down the reefs. I guess they have little or no predators so they flourish.

    Davie Peguero

    Gerald
    Are you asking if we notice overfishing?


    I know for a fact, that when we jump on a "virgin" area, fish
    are dumb, after a few visits, they get really smart and hard to
    catch, so more fun.


    And of course, when I go to a regular place, you can tell the
    fish react smart as soon as they see you, and they are harder
    to get.


    Our island condition make us very diferent to Florida,
    our shallow water plataform is very small, so we have
    a limited amount of it to replenish the fish populations.


    But on the other hand, deep water is very close to shore
    so its perfect for targeting the pelagics wich spearfishing
    will never make a dent.


    We have an xtremely limited amount of (jewfish) goliath
    groupers, its a real endangered species here.

    Though I am in SE FL now I can speak for the Gulf Coast near Tampa (where I am from) and say that the fish population to me seems to have declined a bit. The Goliath Grouper thing really pisses me off because there are so many places I have been on where they are the only thing on the reef because they just eat everything. I have had them suck fish right off my spear. Last time I was on that coast spearing I had a nice gag just sitting there but like 4 or 5 GG were just sitting there waiting to tax my catch so I didn't even bother. If they would give us a one week mini season with just one per boat we could control them a bit more; it's not like they run.


    I haven't been diving this coast long enough to see a change in the reef's here but I know that I have seen several places that you would think is an ideal habitat but only ever holds ornamental fish.


    I am going into Fisheries management once my degree is finished and one thing I want to do is work to get a season for the GG. I haven't seen one here yet but the Gulf is plagued with them.

    I have been diving Pensacola Bay for about 15 years, and there are a few observations that I can make with confidence, and others that I am less sure about. Keep in mind that our bottom here is probably very different from what many of you dive. The bay has no natural structure. It is open sand or mud bottom (grass in the shallows), punctuated only by artificial (junk) reefs dropped over the years.


    On thing that I absolutely have noticed over the last few years is an increased number of Red Grouper, small scamp, and even the occasional Nassau Grouper. Previously, I never saw anything but Gag Grouper.


    I am also quite sure that I see more of the larger red snapper than I used to. The Bay has always had plenty of small red snapper, but lately I see fish of 15+ pounds almost every trip.


    I am tempted to say that I see more grouper and MANY more red snapper than I used to. But over the years, I have found more, and better spots to dive in the Bay. My experience has taught me that certain kinds of structure reliably hold fish, and some just don't. So I do wonder if there really are more fish, or if I have gradually gotten better at finding them, or at least not wasting my time in places where I know they won't be.

    Quote from Roberto Reyes

    Gerald
    Are you asking if we notice overfishing?


    Hi Roberto,


    Yes, I guess that is what it comes down to. But although in my area it points mostly to overfishing, in other areas, like in Curaçao, I see a lot of habitat destruction due to construction, silting up the near shore fringing reef we have there, resulting if fewer fish period, not just the predators...


    I started diving in South FL a little over 7 years ago, and we'd almost always get nice fish on the boat every trip. We didn't have to dive deep to get grouper, and large snapper were common, even in the shallows. There was rarely a need to dive deeper than 60ft. To me it seems like there was a change on the reef sometime around 2006/2007 when there were just remarkably fewer target species about.


    I can't help but also notice that spearfishing has become significantly more popular and has gotten quite a bit of media exposure in the past few years through TV shows and the internet. Combine this with additional pressure from the Giant Goliath grouper that are making such a "successful" comeback, and the lionfish plague, who seem to be eating a significant amount of baby reef fish w/o any predator except us, and the balance of life on the reef seems to be disturbed pretty bad...


    We live in a densely populated area with lots of pressure on the resources, I'd hate to see it go a similar way that it went in the Med. Where unless you dive 100+ feet the biggest thing you'll run into is a mullet or wrasse.

    It's not all bad, I agree.


    It definitely seems like the grouper closure eased the pressure somewhat, and they seem to be more numerous in certain areas...

    It depends what spots you are going to. If you are basing some of your observations on the two-day diving last week, I think the extremely warm water may have had something to do with it. I had never dove the keys in more warmer water ever. Even my black rash guard seemed a bit much. I think bigger quality fish were just deeper.


    Just last year, I returned and dove my old spots off Miami where I would regularly land a black and other fish and I did not notice a difference and was still able to land a nice grouper. That being said, I think the growing popularity of the sport and some of your other observations can in the long run certainly make an impact.

    How about the shear amount of plastic in the ocean,


    Seems like every single beach no matter how remote is now littered with gatorade bottles, quarts of oil, sandals, toothbrushes, plastic caps, etc....


    Much more so than before.... say 6 , 7 years ago


    It is sickening to image the lack of education it takes for a fisherman to fill their boat with oil and then simply toss the quart over the side...


    Maybe more recycling plants in more locations? who knows?? it sure is a dam shame



    On a side note, I actually read of guys over on spearboard talking about how they learned to provide by reading the internet, and presumably going out and cashing in on the bounty of the ocean...


    I have also heard of commercial fishermen going out and taking 70 gags of off one spot, I m ok with subsistance fishing, as well as doing it for a living, but i think it only really has a place for those who have only known that for an entire lifetime.. For someone to sudenly decide they are commercial diver and that the ocean now has to not only provide for them, but also pay child support and credit card debt, is at the heart of Gerald's question...


    The more we can Ban together as the recreational sector and educate the public that the ocean is not endless it cant withstand ton takers and greedy special interest, the better..

    I used to go to the reef infront of my house and stock up on fish without issues but just this year after everyone came down for mini season it was a barren wasteland. It is amazing what damage 60+ boats a day for 2 weeks can do. I haven't seen anything larger than 12" in a month out there...

    [QUOTE=Rolo;38957 If you are basing some of your observations on the two-day diving last week[/QUOTE]


    Rolo, no, not based on last week, although it was the first time I was confronted with how out of control Lion Fish are. I started noticing it was getting much harder to round out a nice cooler locally about 2 or 3 years ago, while my hunting and diving depth have both improved. But even those retarded water temps we had last week are a sign of things changing. I mean 90+˚ water in 50ft is pretty drastic, and NOT good for coral health which inturn would affect fish populations. Those are temps you would expect in a sheltered shallow bay, close to shore, but not miles from land in deeper water...


    Don't get me wrong, there are still good fish around, and I can still fill up the cooler, things just seem to be getting harder in my experience. The lobster population also seems to be very robust and even with the 500K traps in Munroe county alone there still seem to be plenty around for the regular guys...

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