The Tampa Bay Times
The first couple weeks of September the divers in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) were dealt a big blow with the onslaught of Hurricane Adelia. The storm caused damage to a lot of the west coast of Florida, but it didn’t spare the land under the water either! Just a day after the storm arrived, the two month long and heavily anticipated gag grouper season opened. But, the GOM was so badly tossed and turned that the underwater visibility was to poor to see gags for most of September. Only a few days in September offered safe seas and clear water; however, we had until November 10th to make up some time. Well, the gag season was shortened this past week by the National Marine Fisheries Service. They declared that since the opening of the season on September 1st the recreational catch of gag grouper exceeded their expectations and so the season will now close on October 19th. There is very little news of this closure in the media and divers may not be getting the notice. Before the recreational fishermen and divers get in an uproar, be advised that NMFS also took more than 50% of the commercial quota from the commercial sector too. We were lucky, we got out one day in September to spear gags and we were very happy, there were gags on every dive. So, if you’re looking for some gag filets for your table in 2023, get out soon, watch the weather and be back by October 18th.
- Jay Mastry - March 26, 2024
- Captains Corner, Gorta - March 23, 2024
- Dave Zalewski - March 12, 2024
