GULF SNAPPER COUNT - A three year independent study led by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi reports there are three times as many Red Snapper in the Gulf of Mexico than previously thought.
Fishery scientists expected to find about 36 million snapper in Gulf waters. So they counted and counted and counted and the final tally? A surprising 110 million. Shane Bonnot is the Advocacy director for the Texas Coastal Conservation Association. He says not only did the twelve million dollar study discover Red Snapper around underwater pipelines, but also in open water.
"So those are those mystery fish that have always been out there we just haven't been able to locate them through traditional fish survey techniques," Shane Bonnot, Advocacy Director-Texas Coastal Conservation Association
"Across the vast mud flat that is the Gulf of Mexico you have a high abundance of Red Snapper that have been recently discovered,” Bonnot said. “So those are those mystery fish that have always been out there we just haven't been able to locate them through traditional fish survey techniques.”
Once considered over-fished, the study appears to confirm that the population of Red Snapper is a sustainable resource in the Gulf of Mexico.
