COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE6640 RiversideDrive,Suite 200Metairie, Louisiana 70003504 38-1170Fax:/5_4_838-' 175Websit_ www.aectr.lsu.edu:h & Extensior _ I EXT NSONPRO RAMS_riculture and_orest_,L_g_i__ _ __Rt Community LeadershipEconomic DevelopmentEnvironmentalSciencesFamilyand Consumer Sciences4-H Youth DevelopmentLOUISIANA Natural ResourcesMay t, 2002 Volume 26, No. 5RED DRUM CONUNDRUMThe redfishfishery inthe federal waters ofthe Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) hasbeen totally closed since they were declared to be overfished inthe 1980s. Redfish spendthe first few years of their life in inshore estuaries. As they approach maturity they moveto offshorewaters, where they spend the rest oftheir long livesin schools. This movementiscalled "escapement".Since the federal closure and the creationof much tighter regulations in state waters,redfish populations have rebounded. Thequestion is how much. State managementagencies monitor inshore stocks and studieshave been conducted on inshore catches.Unfortunately, with the federal closure, very fewadult redfish from offshore schools have beensampled, so very little scientific data exists on these fish. If the fishery has recoveredfrom overfishing, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) must open the fishery.Present data is conflicting. Research from Louisiana and Florida indicates thatescapement levels are very high and that redfish stocks in the Gulf of Mexico arerecovered. The limited data from NMFS' most recent study is inconclusive.Two years ago NMFS conducted an offshore sampling effort using purse seines.Because of study design problems, the results are considered unreliable. Now NMFS hasput together another effort, one that will gather offshore fish by hook and line throughchartered recreational and commercial vessels.The plan isto use the vessels to take 20-30 fish per school, from as many schoolsas can be located between now and the end of the year. Otoliths (ear bones) will beremoved from these fish, cross-sectioned and the yearly growth rings counted. The goalisto get 800-1000 otoliths from redfish from the area between the Florida panhandle andthe northeast coast of Texas. From these otoliths, the age breakdown of the populationcan be determined._w'llL_" TheLSU riculcuralCenter isa scatewidecampusof the LSUSystemand providesequalopporcuni¢iesinprogramsandemploymenLLouisianaStateUniversityandA. &H.College, . ,Louisianaparishgoverningbodies,SouthernUniversity.andUnitedStatesDepar_rnencofAgriculturecooperarJng2Hook and line vessels will be paid $1000 per day, with a $20 per fish bonus (up to$500) for each redfish collected after the first 25. Each vessel will have a NMFSrepresentative on board and the vessel must have overnight accommodations for theNMFS person. Each vessel will be contracted for up to 5 fishing days during a 20-dayperiod. If 20-30 redfish are taken from a spot, the NMFS representative will instruct thevessel operator to move to another school in a different area. After the otoliths areremoved,the redfish will be donated to localfood charities. No bycatch may bekept whilethe vessel is under contract.MARINEWATER POLLUTION REPORTWater pollutionhas no friendsamongfishermen,who have longrecognizedthethroatof pollutionto fishpopulations.A comprehensivereporton marinewaterpollutionreleasedat the end of 2001 by the Pew OceansCommissionpointsoutthatthe faceofwater pollutionhas changed. Water pollutionis still most commonly thoughtof asoccurringby a pipedischargingliquidchemicalsfrom a manufacturingplantorsewagefroma city,directlyintorivers,lakesand bays.The newreportpointsoutthatwhilesomeof thisstilldoesoccur,mostwaterpollutionnowresultsfrom dischargesintotheairwhichinturnaredepositedintothe water,andfromactivitieson land,whichlaterget tothewaterbyrunoff.Major reductions in industrial and sewage pollution began withthe passage of the Federal Water PollutionControlAct in 1972,whichwas roauthorizedasthe CleanWater Act in 1987. Sincethen,dramaticreductionsinpollutiondischargesfromindustries,includingoil and gas production,refineries,chemicalmanufacturing,electric-power plants,and food processing,have occurrod. City sewagetreatmentplantdischargeshave alsoimproved,althoughnotasmuchas industrialdischarges. The Clean Water Act forces sewagetreatment plants to reach at least "secondary" levels of watertreatment.Thisremoves 85% of the organicandsolidmaterial,butonlyone-thirdof the dissolvednitrogenand phosphorus.These twoelementsserveasnutrientsor plant food for algae, and are a major cause of overonrichmentof naturalwaters(eutrophication)thatcan resultinlow-oxygenor no-oxygenareas.Before the 1970's, the transportationof city garbage, industrialchemicalsandwaste, sewagesludge,and constructiondebrisoffshorefor dumpingintotheoceanwascommon. Lawsand treatiesslowedthispractice. Finally,in1988, CongresspassedtheOcean DumpingBan Act which stoppedthe practice. Today, almostthe only "oceandumping"is the disposalof dredgesediment. About 5-10% of dredgesedimentsareclassifiedas beingcontaminatedbypollution.These sedimentsare placedin landfillsorinspecialconfinedor containedsites.3The report mentions two other sources of direct pollution aquaculture and vesseldischarges. Pollution from aquaculture includes uneaten fish food, fish wastes, pesticides,antibiotics, hormones, and food additives. These can affect native fish populations, andhabitat, especially under and near net pens or other aquaculture facilities.Pollutants such as sewage, garbage, and bilge waters are discharged into the seaby vessels. Cruise ships operate in confined harbors in the Caribbean islands or pristinewaters such as Alaska's inland passages. They generate sewage, gray water, garbage,oily wastes, andwaste from photo processors, swimming pools and dry cleaning. Ocean-going vessels burn large quantities of fuel. Their engine exhausts are estimated toproduce 14% of the emissions of nitrogen from fossil fuels and 16% of the emissions ofsulphur from oil use into the world's atmosphere.The report also discussed what are known as "legacy contaminants." These arepollutants released into the environment in the past, that humanswill have to deal with fordecades or even centuries after their release into the environment has stopped. Theyinclude metals such as cadmium, copper, lead, and mercury, pesticides such as DDT andtributyltin, industrial chemicals such as PCBs and tetrachlorobenzene, and industrial andcombustion by-products such as dioxins and PAHs. Most of these