“Grouper has become a very popular fish, not only in the state of Florida, but throughout the U.S.,” said 47-year fishing veteran Robert Spaeth, executive director of the Southern Offshore Fishing Association. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink
by Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News Editor
Madera Beach is home to some of the whitest sand along the Gulf Coast. It is also home to some of the best fishing, both recreational and commercial, especially Gulf Grouper. Recreational fishermen enjoy targeting the fish, and customers at restaurant after restaurant along the Florida coast demand it.
“Grouper has become a very popular fish, not only in the state of Florida, but throughout the U.S.,” said 47-year fishing veteran Robert Spaeth, executive director of the Southern Offshore Fishing Association, whose association represents commercial grouper fishermen. “It is a wonderful white, mild tasting fish that consumers love.
The popularity of the fish in both recreational and commercial fishing sectors is leading to a showdown between the two groups, Spaeth fears.
The most common species of fish landed at Maderia Beach include (l-r) red grouper, gag grouper, cobia and mango snapper. Photo: Robert Spaeth
Love for fishing for Spaeth was passed down from his father who came to the U.S. though Ellis Island. “He loved fishing, and took me with him some times. I grew to love it, and it became my passion. I never looked back, except for my time in Vietnam and collage,” he said. “I have a son who has the same passion, I guess it runs in the chromosomes.”
Grouper, which comes in a number of varieties, is mainly caught in the waters of the eastern Gulf. It can grow as large as 300 pounds, but average catch is between 10 -12 pounds. A majority of the fish is sold along the Gulf Coast states because consumers and chefs are familiar with the great taste and texture, but a large quantity is also sold on the east coast, especially New York.
“Grouper varieties can be found in both the deep and shallow waters of the eastern Gulf, or east of the Mississippi River,” explained Spaeth. “We don’t have rigs off the Florida coast, so a majority of grouper comes from fishing the sea bottom, contours and natural habitat.”
The Southern Offshore Fishing Association, a non-profit organization formed to promote fresh, high quality, domestic fish, presently represents 22 grouper boats and various seafood companies.
One of Two Gulf IFQ’s
“Over the years, we have worked hard to enhance the image of the American fisherman and promote our products to the consumer,” said Spaeth. “We work closely with other fishery groups and agencies, both state and federal, to keep the Gulf of Mexico clean and environmentally secure.”
According to Spaeth, “Grouper, like Red Snapper, is part of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) program, a one of kind of catch share by which the fishery is regulated. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink
According to Spaeth, “Grouper, like Red Snapper, is part of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) program, a one of kind of catch share by which the fishery is regulated.
In the Gulf, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Council is responsible for determining the total allowable catch of Grouper, as well as Red Snapper. Once the catch limit is set a dedicated portion, or quota shares, is then allocated to recreational and commercial fishermen; quota for the commercial sector and bag limit for the recreational side.
“There are two IFQ’s in the Gulf, Snapper and Grouper Tile Fish,” explained Spaeth, Gulf Council’s reef fish advisory panel for more than 30 years. “Unlike red Snapper, There are several species under the Grouper IFQ – Red Grouper, Gag Grouper, Scamp, Yellow Edge, Kitty Mitchell, and Gold and Grey Tile fish – and they are all excellent eating.”
Most of the Gulf’s reef fish are shared between the two industries that are often on opposite sides when demanding more access to the sustainable resource.
“Last year the grouper IFQ for both sectors was valued at more than $25 million,” said the Florida fisherman. “The one thing IFQ’s have done for our industry is make commercial fisherman accountable on harvest levels so no overfishing occurs, something that would jeopardize the stocks.”
Keeping Grouper Sustainable
The Southern Offshore Fishing Association has worked with organizations like Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch to keep them updated on the harvest practices of Gulf commercial grouper fishermen. “Our fishermen have been under regulations for more than 20 years, during that time period we have constantly stayed within our allotted quota, if that’s not sustainable, nothing is,” he said.
“We want to be known as a sustainable fishery,” Spaeth went on to explain. “We have requested NOAA certify our fishery as sustainable, and help us spread the word to the American public.”
Madera Beach is home to some of the whitest sand along the Gulf Coast. It is also home to some of the best fishing, both recreational and commercial, especially Gulf Grouper. Photo: Robert Spaeth
“A number of grouper populations have been overfished or have unknown status, however strict management is helping populations recover,” said Karrie Carnes , Senior Manager of Conservation & Science Communications for the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch. “In the Gulf of Mexico, red grouper and black grouper populations have increased and that fishery has been ranked by Seafood Watch as a ‘Good Alternative’.”
According to Carnes, Strict management in this area is helping reduce catch of depleted gag grouper. Gag, snowy, warsaw and yellowedge grouper species from the Gulf of Mexico as well as grouper from the U.S. Atlantic are on Seafood Watch’s “Avoid” list due to critical concerns regarding stock status. Seafood Watch is the process of updating grouper assessments and recommendations, they are expected to be released later this year
Spaeth knows the importance of keeping grouper in front of the American public.
In the 1980’s while trying to develop the grouper market, Spaeth came across an Associated Press on pollution in a New York area lake that was causing the lack of local fresh fish. Then Mayor Ed Koch was quoted saying, “New Yorkers should eat a good fish like grouper.”
Grouper and Blue Crab. Photo: Jim Gossen/GSI
“I immediately went to the fish house and wrapped up a 50 lb gag grouper, put it in a box and shipped it to him with a thank you note. The next thing I know I see a photo in the New York Times of the mayor with his close friend Archbishop John J. O’Connor enjoying that grouper over dinner,” he said.
According to a National Marine Fisheries Service analysis, the recreational side has overfished their allotment for the past 10 years.
“Recreational fisherman, both snapper and grouper, need to have a system set in place that accounts for their total harvest, just like commercial fishermen already have,” Spaeth said. “They must become accountable for providing adequate harvest levels, otherwise overfishing by that sector will continue to reduce the number of days they have to harvest, and the fishery will become endangered.”
Spaeth sees the recent decision by the Gulf Council to take quota from the commercial fisherman as a trend.
“There is a concentrated effort by a recreational group to take quota away from the consumer, and put it into the recreational system,” he said. “I have a big problem with that because people that don’t have boats, or can’t afford the $1000/day it takes to hire a charter, have a right to that Grouper filet. Our fishing boats are just the “taxi cabs” bringing it to the market for the American public to enjoy.”
Bobby Spaeth is telling it like it is. The professional grouper fishermen (licensed, inspected, accountable for every grouper they harvest) are providing a fully sustainable seafood product to the consumers of America. The recreational sector has no accountability other than a random counting system that everyone if the trade knows does not truly reflect the impact of recreational fishing. The Texas based coastal conservation association wants all the fish even as the recreational sector grossly overfishes their allowed annual quota. For red snapper they over-fish by more than 2 million pounds annually. Estimates have been made that their regulatory discards (red snapper caught and tossed back overboard when fishing for other species) could account for another 5 million pounds of wasted fish. When the recreational sector becomes accountable that would be the time to sit down at the allocation table and determine “Who Gets The Fish!”