Charter boat captain Sam Maisano remembers the good old days when February was the time to head offshore and catch grouper. "We have never had any problem catching big fish," said Maisano, who keeps his 32-foot, twin-engine Donzi docked behind Gators Cafe and Saloon on John's Pass. "There are grouper out there, but most folks don't want to book a trip unless they can keep something to eat." Maisano, like many who make their living off the bounty of the Gulf of Mexico, is doing his best to survive the current "perfect storm" that has crippled offshore fishing. First, the economy crashed. Many folks just don't have discretionary cash to spend on fishing charters. Then in January, Tampa Bay got slammed by a string of cold fronts that led to fish kills and had even the most seasoned of salts shaking in their boots.
And now, charter boat captains and recreational anglers find themselves in the middle of a two-month grouper closure. "This is the worst that it has been in more than a decade," said Dave Bayes, who manages Dogfish Tackle in Seminole. "People are scared. They don't know what is going to happen next."
Maisano and Bayes, like many in the fishing industry, are frustrated with the current federal regulatory process, which relies heavily on government-sponsored research but doesn't put much stock in the thoughts and observations of everyday anglers.