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+--- Thread: Regional management an option for Lower Laguna Madre specks (/showthread.php?tid=295125)
Regional management an option for Lower Laguna Madre specks - FishNews - 12-19-2006
AUSTIN, Texas - Anglers in the Lower Laguna Madre could see spotted seatrout bag and size limits that are different from those in effect in other bay systems as early as September 2007.
A regional management plan for the Lower Laguna Madre is one solution being considered by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department coastal fisheries biologists to address a downward trend in both the number and size of the popular game fish being landed in Texas' southernmost bay system.
In a briefing to TPW commissioners Aug. 23, Randy Blankinship, then the TPWD ecosystem leader for the Lower Laguna Madre, said that the department's data shows that good numbers of spotted seatrout are being recruited to the fishery. Still, Blankinship said, fewer fish over 20 inches are being landed, even though fishing pressure has remained constant or even slightly increased in recent years.
"Because coast-wide trends are positive and the Lower Laguna Madre is the only bay system exhibiting negative trends in spotted seatrout, a regional management approach appears to be one option to accomplish the goal of maintaining a world-class fishery," Blankinship told commissioners.
Scoping meetings to discuss the proposed changes are slated for January 2007.
News Release: Scoping Meetings Set for Proposed Saltwater Fishing Regulation Changes