Florida snook population numbers are good, but something's still not adding up (2024)

Snook Symposium VII took place June 30 in Orlando, a city about 50 miles from where the closest snook can even be caught.

It's a gathering of researchers, anglers, tackle shop owners, fishing club representatives, conservationists, fishery managersand outdoors media.

Every five years, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission puts the gathering together as part of its overall management plan for one of the state's most sought-after saltwater fishing targets.

I always look forward to it. As someone who formerly worked in the research community and is a lifelong saltwater angler, the scientific findings and environmental reports are peak snook geek.

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What exactly is a protrandic hermaphrodite?

For example, I only get to hear and read terms like thesewhen it's symposium time:

• Perturbation:Meaning a deviation of a system, such as an ecosystem, caused by anoutside influence that disrupts a normal process.
• Obligatemarine spawners:Meaning snook require salinity at greater than 24 parts per thousand in order for eggs to be buoyant and for sperm to aggregate.
• Protandric hermaphrodites: Meaning snook are born males and then later in life become females.

What do Ithink of when I hear these terms?

For "perturbation," I immediately thought of events such as the red tide in 2018 and the severe cold spell in 2010,and how deeply they disrupted the snook life cycle.

When fishery scientist Alexis Trotter, who replaced the indomitable Ron Taylor when he retired, used the term "obligate marine spawners," I immediately thought of all the snook which areinstinctively directed to spawn at the mouth of the St. Lucie Inlet near Stuart or Captiva Pass near Fort Myers during the summer when high-volume Lake Okeechobee discharges drop salinity in those estuaries to zero.

I don't even know what to say about "protandric hermaphrodites."

What kind of future will snook have?

This Snook Symposium did not disappoint. It was chock full of rich information about the fish. At face value, the main takeaways were positive:

• Snook stocks are in good shape overall on both Florida coasts
• Spawning potential ratio, a measure of a fish's health in the wild, is at a 30-yearhigh
• Habitat restoration projects are underway to enhance ecosystems

Reasons to celebrate, right? Sure, shoot off some snook fireworks.

But from my perspective, there are at least five pretty serious problems looming for snook. Theycould have long-term effects on the health of snook stocks as well asother marine fish inhabiting Florida's coastal waters. They are:

Water quality

Florida needs to get its act together when it comes to cleaning up its waterways, said FWC fishery scientistTimMacDonald, who is retiring in weeks after a long career.

"I can't say theprognosis is good long-term for Florida's fisheriesbecause there are nutrient issues," he said.

Runoff from agriculture, mining, urban development, septic tanks and biosolids willonlyworsen waterways until regulations with actual penalties keep them clean.

Habitat

Much work has been done to restore habitats in the Indian River Lagoon and St. Lucie Riverecosystems whichare critical to snook and other marine organisms, said Jeff Beal of Ducks Unlimited, a Tennessee-based nonprofit that claims to be the "world's largest and most effective private waterfowl and wetlands conservation organization."

Beal, aformer FWC employee,has spent a career in habitat restoration.

He described dozens of projects that helped coastal estuaries betweenJacksonville and Palm Beach, including $1.2 million Martin County sunk into reviving a red mangrove forest that died of what he calleda "mangrove heart attack."

Over500 acres in Jensen Beach, on the northeast side of the causeway, drowned in2017 from a one-two punch of king tides and Hurricane Irma.

"Clearly, we still have a lot of work to do," he told the audience.

Depredation

Fishery managers mustpay attention to thisgrowing problem with snook populations, as well as other fish offshore, saidCapt. Mike Maher of Vero Beach, who always attends the Snook Symposium.

"Sharks and goliath groupers are really a huge problem, especially when I have inexperienced anglers on board," Maher told me. "I tell them to reel fast, and I try to fish in spots where I have a better chance of using the boat to assist keeping their hooked catches away from goliaths and sharks. But often, it doesn't matter what Ido. Those big predatorscome up and will park right under your boat."

FWC is preserving one fish— goliath grouper— at the expense of others such as snook and snapper, said Pete Schulz, owner of Fishing Headquarters tackle shop in Jupiter.

"The last couple of years, the shark problem has really been bad," he said.

Increased fishing pressure

Snook fishing is nowhere as good as it once was, and too much fishing pressure is oneof several reasons why, saidCapt. Mike Holliday of Stuart.

Hollidayhas built a careersteering clients to memorable catches of snook, tarpon, permit and huge jack crevalles on fly, live bait and other light tackle.

"Before the seagrass died off 8-10 years ago, I used to catch 30 snook on a trip," he said. "Now, I'm lucky to catch 10 snook a trip ... and eight of them will have already had hooks in their faces."

For evidence of his fears, look no further than recent state fishing license and snook permit data. FWC reports all-time high sales of nearly 1.6 million saltwater fishing licenses and 350,000 snook permits for the 2020-21 fiscal year.

Fort Pierce angler Greg Simmons suggested increasingthe size of snook allowable for harvest from 28-32 inches to 28-34 inches.

"When snook are released after being caught, the biologists tell us anywhere from 2-5% die. By making it easier to catch a fish an angler will take home, it means he or she will catch fewer fish outside the slot," he said.

Northward migration

Snook are migrating north because ofgradually warming temperatures and warmer, milder winters without a hard freeze,according to data presented by FWC fishery biologist Caleb Purtlebaugh.

More research is needed to determine their predatory effects onredfish, spotted seatrout, flounder and sheepshead in these areas, which includeCedar Key,the Suwanee River and estuaries in St. Augustine and the St. Johns River in Jacksonville.

All these concerns leave me echoing Beal's words.

"Clearly, we still have a lot of work to do."

Ed Killer is TCPalm's outdoors writer. Sign up for his and other weekly newsletters at profile.tcpalm.com/newsletters/manage. Friend Ed on Facebook at Ed Killer, follow him on Twitter @tcpalmekiller or email him at ed.killer@tcpalm.com.