Gulf Coast Reef Hunters

Summer in December

Hey divers and spear’os. Its like a summer day out there. Temps in the mid 70′s today so get out and take advantage of the great weather by catching dinner or just diving for fun!

Charters Available

Discovery Dive World has spearfishing charters available at $80 per person. Standard rate but this charter only has a minimum of two spear O’s. Call 850-678-5001 for more info.

Goliath Grouper

This article taken from Key West Citizen.

A comeback for Goliath grouper?
While some fishermen say yes, conservationists say not so fast
BY TIMOTHY O’HARA Citizen Staff
tohara@keysnews.com
The success of a conservation effort is measured on a slippery scale when it comes to Goliath grouper, a protected species whose numbers have rebounded in recent years.

Supporters of harvesting the large fish — they can reach lengths of 8 feet and weigh as much as 800 pounds — claim the lumbering giants have become so numerous anglers can’t reel up smaller fish without them being snatched off their lines. Goliath groupers also are consuming large numbers of spiny lobster, a major cash crop, supporters of opening the fishery say.

But many conservationists disagree, insisting that Goliath grouper populations have not rebounded to a point they can be harvested. And, they say, studies show that spiny lobsters are not a mainstay of the Goliath grouper diet. They believe fishermen would quickly wipe out the species by targeting them on wrecks and artificial reefs, and by spearing the slow-moving fish that often ignore divers.

The South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico fishery management councils and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) are convening a panel to consider the idea of opening up the fishery. The FWC board discussed the issue earlier this month at its meeting in Key Largo, where William Teehan told the board the agency will “play a leading role on this panel.”

The panel — to comprise scientists, fishermen and fishery managers — will determine the best way to conduct a stock assessment, either by allowing some fishermen to harvest the species or by conducting some kind of fish count. The panel also will determine what areas are surveyed.

Both state and federal fishery managers have said they lack enough information about the fish to make a decision on reopening the fishery, which was limited to catch-and-release in 1990. Some have urged fishery managers to allow a certain number of the groupers to be harvested for research purposes, facilitating a more accurate stock assessment.

In 2006, researchers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute proposed a stock assessment that would have allowed the harvest of 800 Goliath grouper over two years. The assessment was scrapped after several scientists and conservationists opposed it, said Chris Koenig, a Florida State University marine biology professor who has conducted research on Goliath grouper.

“That was no way to treat a fish that is trying to recover,” he said.

Koenig said there are ways to conduct stock assessments that would give age data without killing the fish. He said he has conducted studies that determine age by the number of rings on their dorsal fins, similar to how a tree’s age is determined.

Koenig and Florida Keys commercial spearfisherman Don DeMaria argue that a study needs to be done to determine the value of Goliath grouper alive over the course of its life. Goliath groupers are an attraction for divers, and dive boat operators regularly visit wrecks and reef spots where they frequent.

“There is way more economic value to them being alive than dead,” DeMaria said.

“If the fishery is opened up, the first place people are going to go kill them are the wrecks where divers go to see them alive. There needs to be an economic value study of this fish.”

Koenig agrees the fish are more valuable as a living resource.

DeMaria said the dive industry should be represented on the panel the FWC and fishery councils are putting together. He said fishermen are already harvesting the fish illegally, year-round.

A photo of a living Goliath grouper with a spear tip in its head was circulated this fall to FWC and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, with a request that officers look out for divers spearing Goliath groupers at Bahia Honda Bridge.

Goliath grouper mortality is still very high. The population post the closure peaked in 2006 and has declined ever since, DeMaria said.

Koenig also said a January 2010 weather event may impact populations in the years ahead. He said a cold snap may have killed as many as 95 percent of the juvenile population in the Everglades and other mangrove areas off Florida, making this is “poorest possible time to open [the fishery] up.” He said the juveniles spend their first five years in the shallow mangrove habitats.

Intense recreational and commercial fishing pressure is blamed for the population decline of Goliath grouper in the 1980s. Improvements to spearguns and diving equipment in the 1960s and 1970s led to greater numbers of Goliath groupers being taken. Advent of GPS and improved fish-finders also have made the species easier to find.

The ban on their harvest came in “response to indications that the population abundance throughout its range was greatly depressed,” according to the federal protection law.

The Goliath grouper is recognized as a “critically endangered” species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The species throughout the world has been “observed, estimated, inferred or suspected” of a reduction of at least 80 percent during the past decade, according to IUCN.

No timetable has been established for selecting panel members, but the councils expect them to start meeting sometime in 2012, council representatives said.

tohara@keysnews.com

Flounder

Get out and get ‘em! The flounder are thick this time of year. Everyone is getting their limit.

We’re Back!

It looks like we have fixed some bugs in our GCreefhunter.org website so stay tuned for future activity.

When to take up Spearfishing as a new diver

I get alot of questions from new divers interested in spearfishing. Many of them think they can (and some do) jump right into the sport after completing their dive course and receiving that coveted PADI dive card. Before taking up spearfishing, a diver should possess at least an intermediate level of diving expertise. Intermediate skill refers more to a diver’s ability and comfort in the water than it does to “passing” a certain certification level. Just like diving, spearfishing is a very safe sport. However, when you break the rules you get in trouble. Rules include being prepared, skilled and in adequate physical condition for the type of diving activity pursued. Basic skills include familiarity with diving equipment, mastery of basic water skills, including exceptional buoyancy control, and dive table proficiency. Advanced diving skills include underwater navigation, fish identification and at least 24 dives logged in the dive log. Effective buoyancy control distinguishes an accomplished diver from an inexperienced one. The MOST important skill is the monitoring of your air consumption. I know many “experienced” spearfishers who are lucky enough to tell the story of how they ran out of air at 100′ only to do an emergency ascent because there was no one around to help them. One required helicopter evacuation to the decompression chamber as a result. Why did they run out of air? It wasn’t from equipment malfunction. It was failure to monitor the air supply adequately. Lots going on down there while you’re chasing fish. It requires discipline and skill.

Scuba Diving Certification

If you are a “free diver” and are having trouble getting the big fish because of the depths here, why not get Scuba certified and see what a difference being a certified diver can make.  Why not give Discovery Dive World a call and check out the Open Water Diver certification through PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors).  Being a certified Scuba diver opens up a whole new world or you.   Want to save a few bucks and take your time with the course?  DDW is now offering the PADI Open Water certification course at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville.  For more information contact the NWFSC continuing education department or call Discovery Dive World at 850-678-5001.

PADI Underwater Hunter Course Available

If you are an experienced or beginning diver with at least an Advanced Open Water certification or 24 dives in your logbook, then we have something for you. Discovery Dive World in Valparaiso offers a PADI certified Underwater Hunter’s  specialty course. This course teaches the basic fundamentals of Spearfishing including equipment and accessories for spearfishing, safety, technique, regulations and much more. This course won’t make you an overnight success or win the Spearfishing Open but it will provide you with a solid introduction to Spearfishing on Scuba. Call Discovery Dive World at 850-678-5001  or email them at support@discoverydiveworld.com

Spearfishing in the Winter

Yes it’s winter here in Northwest Florida and the water temps are in the 50′s but this Spearfisherman isn’t complaining! I think he needs a bigger table to clean that one on.   State waters are still open through January.  Closed February and March.

Spearshaft Durability

When is it time to toss that old spearshaft? Occasionally shafts break or bend.  Obviously a broken shaft is not going to do much for you spearfishing.  Breaks are rare but when it happens it is usually around a weak point such as a drill hole, band notch or the speartip thread area.  A large fish or strain at an odd angle can bend a shaft. It is best to replace a bent shaft as soon as possible as they tend to track incorrectly.  Bent shafts are difficult to straighten out correctly.  If you want to determine if a shaft is bent you can do it by laying the shaft on a flat surface and rolling it looking for gaps and wobble.