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Fishery Bulletin 113(2) 
larger hooks and baits during open seasons also in- 
creased the mean size and modal age of red snapper 
compared with values observed during closed seasons. 
Patterson et al. (2012) and Sauls and Ayala (2012) also 
reported increased red snapper lengths and percent- 
age of the catch that was red snapper, respectively, 
with increasing circle hook size. However, the effects 
of bait size, type, and hook size interactions were not 
tested by Patterson et al. (2012) and were confounded 
among explanatory variables tested by Sauls and Ayala 
(2012). Nonetheless, these parameters may explain the 
more dramatic increases in red snapper length with 
increasing hook size observed in our study than other 
studies. 
High-grading (i.e., releasing fish of legal size in fa- 
vor of potentially catching larger individuals) of live 
red snapper drove shifts in size (more than 150 mm 
TL) and age (4 years) between open-season discards 
and retained catch that were more dramatic than the 
differences would have been if the fishermen had re- 
tained the first 2 legal-size fish caught. High-grading 
of live fish was unique to red snapper catches in this 
study because no other retainable individual of any 
species other than red snapper was ever discarded by 
fishermen. The minimum length limit for red snapper 
is set at 406 mm (16 in) TL as a compromise between 
yield foregone to discard mortality and maximum yield 
per recruit (Waters and Huntsman, 1986; SEDAR 5 ). 
During observed charter boat trips, 38 species were 
documented in the catch, which included both over- 
fished and protected fishes. In addition to the reef- 
associated species targeted directly, fishermen caught 
highly migratory pelagic fishes, small demersal reef 
fishes, and large elasmobranchs, all at variable rates. 
Catch rates for species other than red snapper were 
generally low, and overfished species (i.e., gag, gray 
triggerfish, and greater amberjack) were discarded be- 
cause of either minimum length limits or closed sea- 
sons. High discard mortality of physoclistous fishes 
caught in deep waters (depths >40 m), combined with 
intense gulf-wide recreational fishing effort (Coleman 
et al., 2004; Hanson and Sauls, 2011), likely amplifies 
the impact of discarding practices during closed-season 
trips given the greater depths fished compared to open- 
season trips (Wilson and Burns, 1996; Coggins et al., 
2007; Rummer, 2007; Campbell et al., 2014). 
Without direct regulation of fishing effort, fishermen 
have maintained high levels of effort despite greatly 
reduced open seasons for red snapper. The MSFCMA 
requires that overfished stocks be rebuilt while bycatch 
and bycatch mortality simultaneously are reduced to 
the extent practicable (MSFCMA, 2007), but the cur- 
rent Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (GM- 
FMC) reef fish fishery management plan contains no 
direct management measures, or penalties, that regu- 
late discard composition or rates in this fishery (GM- 
FMC, 2004). Captains adaptively change fishing behav- 
ior and gear to maximize catch efficiency, but priority 
is placed on capturing target species rather than on 
minimizing bycatch and discards. 
Alternative management measures, such as a slot 
size (i.e., fish can only be retained when their length is 
between an upper and lower limit), cumulative length 
limits, or a first fish rule, have been proposed to the 
GMFMC as strategies for reducing fishing mortality 
and discards in the recreational reef fish fishery (GM- 
FMC, 2004). Significant depth-related discard mortal- 
ity precludes the use of slot size limits in red snapper 
management (Rummer, 2007; Campbell et al., 2010; 
SEDAR5; Campbell et al., 2014). A first fish rule would 
allow vessels to retain all fishes caught until a single- 
or multiple-species daily bag limit is reached. A cumu- 
lative length limit regulation would set a daily length 
limit such that the sum of the lengths (e.g., TLs) of 
all retained individuals of a single species could not 
exceed (Bochenek et al., 2010; 2012). 
In testing alternative regulations to bag and size 
limits, Bochenek et al. (2010) found that the cumula- 
tive length limit scenario decreased discard mortality 
by up to 63% and increased landings more than 2-fold 
without increasing fishing mortality rates, compared 
with levels observed under status quo regulations, in 
the recreational fishery for summer flounder ( Paralich - 
thys dentatus) in New Jersey. However, the efficacy of 
these types of alternative management strategies for 
reduction of discards is contingent upon effort reduc- 
tion and may not be successful if fishermen high-grade 
live fish or simply target additional species upon reach- 
ing the daily bag limit for their primary target species. 
Regardless of the management strategy used, incorpo- 
ration of a means to verify and tune self-reported esti- 
mates (e.g., data from onboard observers) would prove 
valuable in reducing uncertainty in stock assessments, 
especially for the private sector, which contributes the 
majority of discards (74-84% since 2008) in the fish- 
ery (Recreational Fisheries Statistics Queries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service Office of Science and Tech- 
nology, http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/stl/recreational/ 
queries/, accessed April 2014.). 
The ability to high-grade live fish had an over- 
whelming effect on the size and age of red snapper 
retained during open seasons. Alternative regulations 
that could minimize or prevent high-grading live red 
snapper may actually improve angler attitudes by re- 
moving the negative connotations associated with dead 
releases and increasing the perceived value of retain- 
ing smaller, legal-size fish. A fundamental aspect of 
the charter boat industry is the ability of captains and 
crew to demonstrate the value of a trip through both 
the quantity and quality of the catch (Holland et al., 
1992). However, recreational angler surveys consistent- 
ly rank catch and retention of fish below intangibles, 
such as freedom to fish and camaraderie (Ditton et al., 
1978; Holland and Ditton, 1992; Bochenek et al., 2012). 
Harvest restrictions have intensified over time but 
current reef fish regulations do not directly restrict 
the freedom to fish because no effort limits have been 
imposed. Johnston et al. (2007) advocated a “rights- 
based” approach to managing recreational fisheries in 
the northern GOM that would be facilitated by har- 
