157 
NOAA 
National Marine 
Fisheries Service 
Fishery Bulletin 
n* established 1881 
Spencer F. Baird 
First U.S. Commissioner 
of Fisheries and founder 
of Fishery Bulletin 
Direct observation of fishing effort, catch, 
and discard rates of charter boats targeting 
reef fishes in the northern Gulf of Mexico 
Email address for the contact author: sgarner@disl.org 
Abstract— Fishing activities on char- 
ter boats that targeted reef fishes 
were documented by observers in 
2012 and 2013 to examine the ef- 
fect of fishing season (open versus 
closed) for red snapper (Lutjanus 
campechanus) on fishing effort, 
catch, and discard variables. Dur- 
ing 54 trips of charter boats with 
observers, 38 species of fishes were 
identified; 32 trips were taken dur- 
ing red snapper open seasons and 22 
trips were taken during closed sea- 
sons. The majority of the catch and 
discards comprised lutjanids but also 
included small demersal reef fishes, 
highly migratory pelagic fishes, and 
elasmobranchs. Boat captains tar- 
geted artificial reefs at depths <40 
m with red snapper abundances 
that were higher and species di- 
versity that was lower during open 
seasons than the abundances and 
diversity found at deeper natural 
reefs that were fished during closed 
seasons. On closed-season trips, dis- 
tance from shore, number of sites 
fished, and time fished per site were 
greater, whereas the number of fish- 
ermen was significantly lower than 
the number on open-season trips. 
The number, size, and proportion of 
red snapper caught were significant- 
ly greater during open-season trips 
than during closed seasons, but the 
number of red snapper discards was 
not significantly different between 
seasons. This study supports the use 
of onboard observer programs for 
the collection of accurate and reli- 
able catch, effort, and discard data 
regarding the recreational for-hire 
sector, and for identifying changes 
in fishing strategies and behavior 
between closed and open seasons for 
the red snapper fishery in the north- 
ern Gulf of Mexico. 
Manuscript submitted 2 June 2014. 
Manuscript accepted 4 February 2015. 
Fish. Bull. 113:157-166 (2015). 
doi: 10. 7755/FB. 113.2.4 
The views and opinions expressed or 
implied in this article are those of the 
author (or authors) and do not necessarily 
reflect the position of the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. 
Steven B. Garner (contact author) 
William F. Patterson 
University of South Alabama and 
Dauphin Island Sea Lab 
101 Bienville Boulevard 
Dauphin Island, Alabama 36528. 
Fisheries bycatch and discards affect 
marine ecosystems worldwide, consti- 
tuting as much as 25% of the annual 
global catch (Alverson et al., 1994; 
Kelleher, 2005; Matsuoka, 2008). The 
ethical issue of wasted marine re- 
sources, as well as the negative im- 
pacts that discards can have on fish- 
es and ecosystems, warrants efforts 
to minimize discards and mitigate 
their effects (FAO, 1995; Kennelly 
and Broadhurst, 2002; MSFCMA 
2007; NMFS, 2011). To that end, ini- 
tiatives to minimize bycatch and dis- 
cards have been fostered by the Unit- 
ed Nations, European Union, and 
United States (FAO, 1995; European 
Commission 1 ; Hermes 2 ). Under U.S. 
1 European Commission. 2008. Over- 
view of the contributions received in 
answer to the consultation on the imple- 
mentation of the policy to reduce unwant- 
ed by-catch and eliminate discards in 
European fisheries. Working document 
of Directorate-General for Maritime Af- 
fairs and Fisheries, 6 p. [Available from 
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/maritimeaffairs_ 
fisheries/consultations/discards/.] 
2 Hermes, R. 2009. Terminal evalua- 
tion of the UNEP/GEF project. Reduction 
of environmental impact from tropical 
shrimp trawling through the introduc- 
tion of bycatch reduction technologies 
and change of management, 30 p. Unit- 
ed Nations Environment Programme 
Evaluation and Oversight Unit, Nairobi, 
Kenya. [Available from http://www. 
unep.org/eou.] 
federal fisheries management, Na- 
tional Standard 9 of the Magnuson- 
Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (MSFCMA, 2007) 
mandates that bycatch and discard 
mortality be minimized to the lowest 
“extent practicable.” 
Complying with MSFCMA man- 
dates has been difficult in the fishery 
for reef fishes in the northern Gulf of 
Mexico (GOM) because of high fishing 
effort and the diversity of fisheries 
that target reef fishes or catch them 
as nontargeted bycatch (Coleman et 
al., 2004; Hanson and Sauls, 2011; 
Cowan et al., 2011). Data on discards 
in the northern GOM recreational 
fishery are collected by multiple fish- 
ery monitoring programs, including 
the Marine Recreational Information 
Program, Southeast Region Head- 
boat Survey, and Texas Parks and 
Wildlife Department Coastal Creel 
Survey (Chromy et al. 3 ). However, in 
all of these surveys, discard numbers 
and the disposition of catch (live or 
dead) are entirely self-reported by 
3 Chromy, J. R., S. M. Holland and R. 
Webster. 2009. Consultant’s report: 
For-hire recreational fisheries surveys, 
60 p. Submitted to the For-Hire Work 
Group, National Marine Fisheries Ser- 
vice. [Available from http://www.count- 
myfish.noaa.gov/projects/downloads/ 
MRIP_FHWG%20ForHire%20Meth- 
ods%20Review%20Final.pdf.] 
