Earlier today at the state capitol, in the House Natural Resources Committee hearing, Rep. Joe Orgeron agreed to defer House Bill 604, which he had sponsored. This bill would've allowed harvest of overslot red drum (over 27 inches) under a proposed tag program. Redfish over 27 inches are considered sexually mature and critical to maintaining a viable abundance of the species.
HB604 would've allow anglers to kill spawning size bull reds with a $25 tag for the purpose of funding a private hatchery. As Tony Friedrich, Executive Director of American Saltwater Guides Association (ASGA) keenly stated, science shows that redfish hatcheries have virtually no impact on adult populations. Several states currently stock millions of redfish fingerlings each year, but data shows that on average only a mere 2% ever reach escapement to the spawning stock. To summarize, hatchery fish are pretty stupid compared to their wild counterparts.
ASGA, Louisiana Wildlife Federation, and Fly Fishers International lobbied against the bill. Some members of the committee acknowledged later hearing from guides, kayak anglers, and fly fishers in opposition.
During testimony before the committee, fly fishing charter guide Ty Hibbs spoke on behalf of many fishing guides pointing out that new regulations had just been put in place, and that the record freeze earlier this year killed many redfish and no assessment of that freeze has yet been fully completed. Glen 'Catch' Cormier of the FFI Gulf Coast Council also testified reminding legislators the year before they had voted 90 to 0 in favor of eliminating mature harvest of redfish. He also stated that while hatcheries are appealing because they provide anglers more easy-to-catch fish, they do almost nothing to increase spawning stock recruitment.
While a voluntary deferred bill can be reintroduced, it's extremely rare that it does. Rep. Orgeron also stated after the testimony that he would like to meet with interested parties in the future for alternative solutions to giving the major saltwater tournaments a means to again having a redfish division.
