Jake Smith, our youngest son, recently spotted a distressed gag grouper floating on the Atlantic Ocean's surface about 15 miles east of Sebastian Inlet.
Jake was searching for cobia when he sighted the oddity. "Its air bladder had expanded out of its mouth. It couldn't swim back down to its home on the bottom."
He then relayed the following to me: "Dad, if the people who release fish knew about deventing, more fish would survive catch and release."
From an aging angler's view, it seems like it isn't getting any easier to just go fishing these days.
But learning more about deventing and properly releasing fish has become a mandate for offshore anglers fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. All commercial fishers and recreational anglers seeking Gulf reef fish species are now required to use circle hooks, dehooking devices and venting tools.
These new rules affect all reef fish species, including groupers, snappers, amberjacks, triggerfish, porgies, sea bass, hogfish and tilefish.
Circle hooks have earned a reputation as a more fish-friendly hook because they tend to catch a fish in the jaw and not in the throat. This contributes to greater motility for released fish. Commercial fishers have been using circle hooks on long lines and other gear for many years, and recently, circle hooks have gained more attention in the recreational sector based on their fish-friendly fame.
It's a good bet that venting tools and dehooking devices are probably not high on the majority of anglers' gift-wish lists. One can only imagine that there are a fair number of anglers fishing the Gulf's waters that know nothing about these regulations. Shawn Dick, CEO at Aquatic Release Conservation, has spent much of his life working with both commercial and recreational anglers, teaching the correct techniques on using these tools.
"We try to educate as many anglers as we can on the proper use of the ARC Dehooker and the Florida Sea Grant/Novak Venting tool," Dick said.
The new regulations implemented by the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council and NOAA Fisheries were adopted to protect the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish fisheries. Studies have shown that the proper use of circle hooks, dehookers and venting tools will significantly increase the survival of the released catch that will help maintain a sustainable and environmentally friendly fishery.