On the Horizon: Fishing Pressure and the Future of Texas’ Marine Sportfisheries

Texans have a well-earned reputation for being proud of their state, and there are countless reasons why they should be. People, places, and traditions intertwine to create numerous unique cultures within the state, and nowhere is this more apparent than the coast. At the end of the last great cattle drives and before the first oil boom, coastal Texans began developing a regional economy centered around fishing and hunting. These proud traditions continue today, with hundreds of thousands of people enjoying our coastal resources annually.

Texans’ passion for coastal fishing creates thousands of jobs and generates billions of dollars in our coastal counties alone. It also creates a new set of considerations for future marine fisheries management decisions in the state. Long gone are the days of rowing Farley boats out of Port Aransas to catch tarpon and snook (Formerly Tarpon, TX. The name was changed once the fish disappeared). Today, improved boat technology and an exponentially growing number of anglers are placing unprecedented fishing pressure on Texas’ marine sportfisheries. Projections also show that Texas will add an additional 20 million people in the next few decades, more than a few of which are sure to be anglers.  Don’t get me wrong, this is a wonderful thing. Our sportfisheries are a public resource that should be utilized and enjoyed by all who wish to do so. I fish the flats every chance I get and enjoy taking a few fish home to eat as well. However, as an angler and a fisheries biologist, I’ve seen an immense increase in the amount of fishing pressure on our coast. From my point of view, changes will have to be made to keep our sportfish populations healthy for the next generation of Texans to enjoy. Let me walk you through what I am seeing…

First of all, we are lucky to have Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD) as our state-level conservation department. Having grown up in other states and worked with/for other management agencies earlier in my career, I can honestly say TPWD is one of the top natural resource departments in the country. Few other agencies work harder to improve natural resources while simultaneously striving to increase the public’s access to them. You should add TPWD to your list of why we are lucky to call Texas home. One of the most important things TPWD provides us as fisheries scientists is their long-term fisheries dataset. This 50+ year dataset is one of the longest running and most complete state-level fisheries datasets in existence. This allows us to have strong confidence when we evaluate long-term trends in sportfish populations, a crucial component of proper fisheries management.

As you would probably guess, we like to see level or increasing sportfish population trends that are not fluctuating wildly year to year. Simply put, this indicates the population has sufficient food and habitat resources and is not experiencing excessive fishing pressure. As you can see, spotted seatrout populations between 2005 and 2019 looked great overall (Figure 2 A). Looking back over the past few years, there have been numerous regulations reducing spotted seatrout bag limits, (Figure 2 B), to keep up with rapidly increasing fishing pressure on the coast (Figure 2 D). Redfish populations, (Figure 2 C), have also been relatively stable over the past fifteen years. However, there was a recent three-year period of precipitous decline followed by an explosive increase. While this type of variation may be natural, the magnitude of fluctuation is worth noting since redfish regulations have not been changed for many years despite increasing pressure. It will be interesting to see if this fluctuation self-stabilizes in the next few years, especially since on-the-water reports suggest more anglers are targeting redfish over seatrout after the freeze. To summarize this broadly, a time may come when managers will not be able to reduce bag limits enough to offset increases in recreational fishing pressure. This could lead to numerous management outcomes such as increased slot sizes, catch-and-release-only seasons, and even extended season closures.

We are already seeing higher slot sizes and lower bag limits for spotted seatrout in the Lower Laguna Madre and a zero-fish bag limit for southern flounder this winter. While this article is by no means an official scientific analysis, (we’re definitely in “back-of-the-envelope” territory here), it is my personal and professional opinion that these types of management changes are going to become more necessary and more common in the future. (It is worth mentioning that there are some sportfisheries, particularly offshore, that could easily support higher levels of recreational fishing pressure, but that is for a different article).

As an angler, I understand that new regulations can be frustrating, and it would be great if things stayed the way they are. So, what can we do to reduce fishing pressure and prolong the need for management changes? The easiest thing I can think of is to only keep what you need. I love eating what I catch and even saving a little for later but let’s be honest, we all find bags of freezer-burned fillets at the bottom of our freezer every year. In addition, practice the best catch and release methods when letting fish go. Yes, even with dink trout and rat reds. Those annoying, soft-plastic-destroying juveniles are going to be the same fish you are targeting in just a couple of years so let’s make sure they survive release (visit www.releasense.org for more information on proper catch and release methods).  

The most important thing we can do is talk about our sportfisheries and how we want the future to look. Anglers, talk to your fishing buddies. Guides, talk with your clients. The Sportfish Center will continue to engage and connect as many stakeholders as possible. We are committed to being accessible to anglers, management agencies, and the recreational fishing industry. Although there may be changes on the horizon, wise stewardship and sound science can ensure that the future of Texas’ marine sportfisheries remains bright.

Stay safe and stay on them.

Quentin Hall is the Angler Engagement Coordinator for the Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation at the Harte Research Institute. He turned his lifelong fishing and hunting habits into a career, receiving dual bachelor’s degrees in Animal Science and Fisheries Management from the University of Missouri and his M.S. in Marine Biology from Texas A&M – Corpus Christi. While Quentin’s research focuses on a variety of studies ranging from juvenile sportfish recruitment dynamics to sportfish movements, his true passion is connecting anglers with the science supporting their fisheries.