Tuesday Block 2

Tuesday Block 2

Now.

For all of you anglers out there, there are new fishing regulations in place, and joining us with the details, kim iverson, kim, it's great to see you, and before we got started here, we had a chance to chat a little bit, and you've given me interesting information that i didn't know in terms of boat traffic, and people going out there fishing, one thing we don't know about here, especially in the low country, they love to fish.

And tell us a little bit more about the impacts right now.

>> absolutely, first thank you for allowing me to be on the show today, and for us to talk a little bit more about the new regulations that recently went into place.

I work with the south atlantic fishily management council and we work out of charleston, one of eight in the country, and our territory covers northern virginia down to key west.

So we're looking at a broader range, and we're looking at regulation changes in federal waters.

We have a lot of fishermen here in the low country, near shore and offshore, and population in boating has increased with social distance.

And families who thought about upgrading to new boats, and at the same time, increasing fishing effort as well.

So our council has developed new regulations to help emphasize best fishing practices for offshore fishermen, fishermen three likely offshore in charleston, starting snapper and grouper species of the we talked earlier, about boating and fishing and the increases in the numbers, but it's intuitive that that would be beneficial in some ways as fishing slowed.

>> exactly.

>> it would be beneficial to the fish populations and that may be the case and may be now, but it's difficult for us to tauntfy that.

Because we need to have data, and in order to get the information, we have to do dockside intercepts, and those have been halted because of the pandemic.

>> when you hear a lot about how the world is shut down, and everybody is forced to stay inside, we see fields of flowers blooming and they have not bloomed in a decade and it will spill off into the ocean.

When people are selling off their body because of covid-19, unless people are out there fishing, you would think that that would increase the supplies in the ocean and we need to see a bit of a pause, a lull in the activities, and now people are starting to head back out.

If you're not someone who fishes yourself, you know about ten people who do, and they have been telling me they can't wait to be out on the water and this is one thing to do while social distancing besides golf.

>> and we had the lull in the activity back in early spring when boat ramps were closed.

And access to water and access to the boot ramps were limited but things have opened back up, and as you notes, there has been an cros in fishing and boating and data collection has started back before social distancing was in place as mandated by the state.

We just had our recreational red snapper season, and it lasted four days, and we had a lot of fish caught based on talking with the state agencies doing some work in the field, and if you look at social media postings, the red snapper were popular.

>> popular on the menu as well.

>> which brings me to the best practices that went into place july 14th.

And again, we're talking offshore fishermen, snapper and grouper, and there are 55 species included.

So it's red snapper and vermilion snapper and -- >> i didn't realize there was more than one.

>> oh, yes.

Lots.

Lots of snappers and lots of groupers off of the coast.

>> we need to take a break z.

When we come back, i want to talk about the regulations we have in place, >> welcome back, and which been chatting with kim iverson of the south atlantic fishery council, and we have been giving anglers out there really good information and tips on what they need to know when they head out on the waters.

We love our oceans and our waterways here in the low country, but you have best practices and requirements for people about to cast their lines.

So tell us a little bit about what people should know before unhooking their catch.

>> yes, thank you.

We're encouraging fishermen offshore to use best fishing practices, and one of those ways is by implementing two new regulations.

Effective july 15th.

So these regulations would require use of descending devices on vessels.

>> it helps a fish suffering from trauma, which is a condition from being brought up in deep water, where the stomach extends out from the mouth.

>> and the eyes bulge.

>> what fish does that happen to there.

>> that's when a descending device would be needed.

>> can you tell us the type of fish?

>> the bottom fish, the reef fishes and the snapper and grouper, so when those fish are brought up, if they have signs of trauma, you can use a descending device, something in the fish's lip, something to bring those fish back to depth quickly.

And that reduces the trauma they experience from being brought up from deep water, and it gets the fish back to depth.

>> once the fish come up to the surface and they have suffered that trauma, they often die.

>> yes, they either die onboard or they can float away, and the stomach inflates and the fish can't swim back down.

>> so its like a bureau essentially on top of the water, and tell us more about the other device.

So if it's not a descending device -- >> the new requirements require this a descending device be onboard and the minimum requirement, 16 feet of line and at least 16 ounces of weight and those descending devices need to be readily available.

You can purchase one, you can buy one online or at the local tackle store, or you can make your own, and we have instructions on the website, best fishing practices, and you can make your own.

And you can put those descending devices to get the fish back down, and we also have new regulations requiring circle hull ups, for those fishermen bottom fishing.

>> what are the fish you're asking people to cloe back?

>> it's a group of fish, 55 different species, red snapper, vermilion snapper, gag groupish, amber jack, and corgis, thins that go together.

So it's difficult to target just one species.

>> let me ask you this.

If someone does not throw back, what happens?

>> there are seasonal closures for grouper and we heard from recreational and charter captains that when grouper season is closed, some of these fish are not making t so we are encouraging the best fishing practices to ensure that the fish do survive and the likelihood that they survive.

>> can someone be fined for that?

>> yes, if chirp caught with say grouper, we have a shallow spawning season through april.

And so they are predicted from keeping the fish, and red snapper, now recreational red snapper is closed.

And geld get a citation if they have red snap or board.

>> it pays not to get that citation.

And a lot of people love going out there and fishing and i have to say most of the people that i have come across are very responsible about how they fish, and it's really more for the recreation of catching and releasing than catching and bringing it back to land.

So we'll share that with our viewers