. . . Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean Reef Fish Fisheries 



46 



. ISSUES 



sought reef fishes. Likewise, grunts and 

 triggerfish have become a large part of 

 certain southeastern U.S. recreational and 

 commercial fishery harvests as traditional 

 species declined. Red snapper reproduc- 

 tion has been hampered by two factors: 1 ) 

 Heavy fishing on adult snappers and 2) the 

 incidental catch and discards by shrimp 

 trawlers. The sharp drop in the average size 

 of red snapper now seen usually reflects 

 high mortalities and population declines. 



Research and management issues of 

 concern are: 1 ) Bycatch losses of red snap- 

 pers and other species in shrimp fisheries, 

 2) losses of undersized fishes caught in 



deep water, 3) proper stock identification, 

 4) unknown reasons for recruitment vari- 

 ability, 5) unknown long-term potential 

 yield by area and species, 6) recovery of 

 overfished stocks (i.e., jewfish, Nassau 

 grouper, red snapper), 7) assessing fishing 

 and bycatch take by longlines, wire fish 

 traps, etc., 8) assessing the value of marine 

 fishery reserves in managing reef fisheries, 

 9) determining effects of habitat alteration 

 or degradation (e.g., sea grasses, coral 

 reefs, mangroves, estuaries) on fish 

 stocks, and 10) balancing traditional fish- 

 eries use with alternative uses such as 

 ecotourism and sport diving. 



