Abstract

The redsnapper, Lutjanus campechanus, is one of the most important and most controversial fish species in the northem Gulf of Mexico. For stock assessment models to be as accurate as possible, mortality estimates, including those associated with regulatory discards, should beknown or at least estimated within a reasonable margin of error. In this study, we used observers onboard red snapper commercial fishing vessels to determine the number and condition of regulatory (undersize) discards during normal fishing operations; A total of 2,075 discards from 108 separate fishing locations during eight fishing trips were observed and characterized for release condition. All were caught with "bandit" multi-book fishing gear at water depths of 17 to 85 m (mean = 44 m); the mean size and age of a random sampling (n = 202) of discards were 13 inches mm TL and 2 years, respectively. Of the discards, 363 (17 %) swam down vigorousIy, 396 (19%) stayed at the surface momentarily before orienting toward the bottom, 794 (38%) were released alive but never swam down, and 532 (26 %) were discarded dead. Based on qualitative characteristics of the discard release condition, 64% of specimens retumed to the water were dead or near death asevidenced by their failure to re-submerge. Discard mortality observed in this study was almost twice the current estimate (33 %) used in red snapper stock assessment models.

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