WSB OREHP meeting with DFW

[Oolie]

Originally Posted by YakDout

Not sure if BSB are still at risk. Could be. But I catch way more BSB than WSB. Like 10:1 actually.

Interesting, I've seen a BSB once in person (juvinile in south bay), but I've landed two adult whites and several dozen juveniles.

In my experience the groupers are far less common, but there are a number of factors that have to do with this, time and place being the two most important.

Additionally your experience is an additional reason why I believe that more can be done on the angler's side by promoting the use of descenders.

BSB are much more likely to be encountered in certain fishing styles, so it's not unexpected that some fisherman come into contact with them with great frequency, while others not at all, same for WSB. Each is target-able.

If the accuracy of any gill-netting fish survey is to be accepted as reasonable (difficult to compare due to the mobile nature of one species versus another) then it would seem like BSB are still far more rare. That being said, different fish move through different areas and some seldom move at all, which makes it difficult to gauge stocks. Gaging stocks through personal experience should be approached with caution as well due to the nature of fisherman using a limited set of techniques to target fish.