A red snapper protection plan
Act’s guidelines help fish avoid the fatal effects of barotrauma
DESCEND Act of 2020, also known as H.R. 5126 or the Direct Enhancement of Snapper Conservation and the Economy through Novel Devices Act of 2020, is set to protect red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico from the fatal effects of barotrauma.
The act requires recreational, for-hire and commercial anglers to have a venting tool or descending device rigged and ready on board their vessels while pursuing reef fish in the Gulf.
The legislation is another step in decades-long conservation efforts to restore the Gulf's red snapper fishery.
“It was something that a lot of anglers in the South Atlantic and the Gulf had wanted to see,” said Ted Venker, Coastal Conservation Association’s conservation director. “Everybody hates to go out and pull up a fish, release it and know it’s not going to make it. There’s nothing more frustrating than seeing a couple fish floating behind the boat that should have been released healthy.”
Red snapper dwell on the ocean floor in large schools. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says red snapper can be found from 30 to 620 feet deep in the Gulf.
Like human divers who can get “the bends” from ascending too rapidly, snapper and other reef fish can suffer barotrauma from being hauled up to the surface. The fish’s swim bladder can rupture, and organs can be displaced as internal gasses expand while pressure decreases.
“Fish suffering from barotrauma may exhibit symptoms including distension of the abdomen, stomach eversion from the buccal cavity, intestinal protrusion from the anus, and eyes bulging from the head (exophthalmia); these injuries can be lethal,” a Harte Research Institute study noted.
The DESCEND Act aims to make fatal barotrauma in reef fish a thing of the past.
A venting tool uses a needle to puncture the swimbladder wall to alleviate the built-up gas. A descending tool, such as the SeaQualizer, uses rapid decompression to return the fish to the depth it was caught. It uses a pressure-activated trigger to release the fish at specified depth settings. SeaQualizers cost about $5060.
Discard mortality has plagued the snapper fishery for years. A Southeast Data, Assessment and Review stock assessment of South Atlantic red snapper from 2017 estimated 28.5 percent of recreationally caught snapper and 38 percent of commercially caught snapper died after release.
A 2014 study by the Harte Research Institute found that venting and descending devices are effective in keeping snapper alive.
“Red Snapper that were vented or recompressed showed higher survival then nonvented or nonrecompressed fish. Fish that underwent vented rapid recompression and vented surface release both had 100 percent survival, while fish subjected to nonvented rapid recompression had 92 percent survival and nonvented surface release had 58 percent survival,” the study showed.
Venker said he hopes that with more snapper returned safely to their banks, fishing access can improve.
“We also want to see the savings turn into longer seasons for anglers, if at all possible,” he said.
Along with the mandate on venting and descending devices, the DESCEND Act requires the National Academy of Sciences to study discard mortality and the effectiveness of the devices. That will be a two-year study. The act will also have the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council develop guidance on the reporting of discard mortalities. In the meantime, Venker, with conservationists and anglers alike, hopes to see these devices become more and more second-nature in time. He already sees an eagerness with the younger generation.
“When I’m out on a boat, kids love to be the ones that lower the fish down. … Hopefully, it will just become more and more commonplace. Making the public aware is a big part of it,” said Venker.
The bill was introduced in November 2019 by Rep. Garret Graves (R-La). It was cosponsored by three Democrats and three Republicans before it passed the House of Representatives and Senate in late 2020 with a voice vote.
Former President Donald Trump signed the DESCEND Act last week. It was one of the last bills he signed during his presidency.
If the injuries don’t kill the fish, the buildup of gas can prevent them from submerging and leave them susceptible to predators like sharks and dolphins.
The problem is heightened by the catch-and-release nature of the snapper fishery. The 2020 red snapper season in federal waters was a little more than two months long, had a minimum size restriction of 16 inches and a two-fish, dailybag limit. Because of these regulations, snapper caught outside of those parameters are returned to the water.