Will the speckled trout limited be lowered to five all along the Texas Gulf Coast. In 2007 the daily speckled trout limit was minimized from ten fish to five fish beneath the Land Cut all along the Texas Gulf Coast. Right after eight years of research it was decided by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department that there was a regular fall in the population of juvenile speckled trout south of Port Mansfield. Biologist are convinced the decline was from expansion in fishing pressure and slight over-harvesting by fishermen. The decrease was restricted to speckled trout, no other fish species from Port Mansfield south looked to have any issues with a reduction in population. Four years later there are many serious discussions of changing the daily bag limit for all of the Texas Gulf Coast to five speckled trout per day.
The obvious question here is, is a lower bag limit actually necessary and if so what should the new limit be? Most research performed by the TP&W suggest that the mid to upper Texas coast is in decent shape as far as speckled trout and overall species is concerned. There are a string of scoping meetings that will be held in January 2011 to identify any problems. On January 26-27 the TP&W Dept. will get together in Austin Texas and in this meeting biologist will likely discuss a range of management solutions, reveal projected outcomes and go over any rule modifications. The new proposal or rule change will be posted on the Texas Register. This allows the public to voice their opinions and leave feed-back. If there is a significant support in favor of change, this can potentially lead to a vote in Austin during the March commissions meetings.
It may perhaps be important to you to know how our fish population along the Texas Gulf Coast is researched and how findings are obtained. It is assessed by spring gill nets and creel nets surveys conducted by coastal fisheries staff. Even though there has been a slight fall over the last couple of years, the gill net catch rate of trout remains higher now than it was for a good deal of the 1970s and 1980s. Speckled trout has actually held fairly consistent over the recent decade. According to the coastal fisheries staff, the quality and quantities of speckled trout have not reduced a whole lot over the prior decade. All in all the fish population including speckled trout is consistent, with a number of years slightly better than others years.
Regardless if you want a change or not, this is an extremely important subject if you are a Texas saltwater fishermen. This projected rule change influence all gulf coast fishermen. Let's not overlook the fishing guides that make their living catching speckled trout on guided trips. What kind of impact if any will this have on their business? Then again we have to think about our fishing future. There are various biologists that feel that a change is desired to reassure that the trout population can thrive for years to come. Immediately after four years of a five trout limit ruling on the lower gulf coast, there are still mixed reviews. Many say it hasn't changed the speckled trout population at all while others declare it as helped. There is a really good chance that no change or law will be proposed, but if it does go to a vote and succeeds it will go into effect September 1st 2011. It is important to let your opinion be heard.
The obvious question here is, is a lower bag limit actually necessary and if so what should the new limit be? Most research performed by the TP&W suggest that the mid to upper Texas coast is in decent shape as far as speckled trout and overall species is concerned. There are a string of scoping meetings that will be held in January 2011 to identify any problems. On January 26-27 the TP&W Dept. will get together in Austin Texas and in this meeting biologist will likely discuss a range of management solutions, reveal projected outcomes and go over any rule modifications. The new proposal or rule change will be posted on the Texas Register. This allows the public to voice their opinions and leave feed-back. If there is a significant support in favor of change, this can potentially lead to a vote in Austin during the March commissions meetings.
It may perhaps be important to you to know how our fish population along the Texas Gulf Coast is researched and how findings are obtained. It is assessed by spring gill nets and creel nets surveys conducted by coastal fisheries staff. Even though there has been a slight fall over the last couple of years, the gill net catch rate of trout remains higher now than it was for a good deal of the 1970s and 1980s. Speckled trout has actually held fairly consistent over the recent decade. According to the coastal fisheries staff, the quality and quantities of speckled trout have not reduced a whole lot over the prior decade. All in all the fish population including speckled trout is consistent, with a number of years slightly better than others years.
Regardless if you want a change or not, this is an extremely important subject if you are a Texas saltwater fishermen. This projected rule change influence all gulf coast fishermen. Let's not overlook the fishing guides that make their living catching speckled trout on guided trips. What kind of impact if any will this have on their business? Then again we have to think about our fishing future. There are various biologists that feel that a change is desired to reassure that the trout population can thrive for years to come. Immediately after four years of a five trout limit ruling on the lower gulf coast, there are still mixed reviews. Many say it hasn't changed the speckled trout population at all while others declare it as helped. There is a really good chance that no change or law will be proposed, but if it does go to a vote and succeeds it will go into effect September 1st 2011. It is important to let your opinion be heard.
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