redfish like that may have been com- pletely wiped out by the single pass of a giant net called a purse seine. Its deadly efficiency was used in south Louisiana for years, which nearly drove the species into oblivion. “Those were the same sized fish that
the commercial fleet targeted in the 1980s,” Rogers recalled. “Two or three boats would corral the massive schools into the nets.” It was a well-orchestrated practice
that involved commercial fishing ves- sels and a “spotter” plane overhead. The pilot scouted these massive schools from above then relayed their positions back to the commercial boats captains. Boats moved into position, circled the schools and deployed the purse seines, often called “curtains of death.” Purse seines became a controversial
method of harvesting redfish when stock assessments in 1985 showed that the nets were capable of wiping out not only entire schools, but entire recruit- ment classes of redfish. The wake-up call almost came too late.
The group called for an immediate halt to net harvests of adult redfish in the Gulf of Mexico in 1986.
A few years earlier, a young bearded
chef at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans was making a name for himself in Cajun Creole cooking. His signature dish was blackened redfish. Within a year, Chef Paul Prudomme had become a household name, and his redfish dish had become the most popular entree in America. Within months the commer- cial fleet in Louisiana could no longer keep up with the country’s insatiable demand for blackened redfish. Anglers soon realized they were
catching fewer and smaller red drum. Then, Gulf Coast Conservation Assoc. (GCCA) began to champion efforts to save the noble redfish. The group called for an immediate halt to net harvests of adult redfish in the Gulf of Mexico in 1986. Two years later they obtained gamefish status for red drum. In 1992, the GCCA successfully re tained con- tinued gamefish status for redfish. With new regulations in place, red-
TIDE
www.joincca.org 45
fish began a steady comeback. There is little doubt that redfish would have been pushed to the brink of extinction with- out the management we have today. As we headed back to the launch it
was obvious dad was in a great mood and I could tell he was still thinking about the question I asked earlier. Now here is a man who has forgotten count- less trips of catching limits but can describe, in ridiculous detail, big strikes he had more than 25 years ago. “I gotta say I do this for the strikes,”
he said. “Or maybe it’s the memories of those strikes.”
He paused to ponder and reflect one
final time. “Or maybe,” he said, looking very serious, “maybe all of this is just about the memories.”
I think Dad may be on to something. Al Rogers is an award-winning out-
doors writer, photographer and columnist whose work has been published in numer- ous magazines, newspapers and websites in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
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