Whether you call them dolphin, dorado or mahimahi, the brilliant green-and-gold game fish that swims in all the world's tropical and subtropical waters stands as one of the world's most popular sport fish. Yet despite the fish's popularity, knowledge of the dolphin fishery is sparse and management almost nonexistent.
Currently no stock assessment for dolphin is available -- which leaves managers only anecdotal reports to evaluate when considering the species' management needs. A quick poll of reliable sources around the world generates a widely diverse picture of the dolphin's status, though one thing is clear: In the Atlantic, fishing for dolphin is clearly headed downhill.
Despite lots of warm water offshore from New York to Massachusetts, dolphin were scarce in 1998. Off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, fishing for dolphin was poor for the previous three years and longliners are increasingly targeting the fish in this area. In the Caribbean, dolphin declined for the past 10 years as commercial fishing activity increases and switches from other target species. In the Nassau, Bahamas, area, the usually good dolphin season did not materialize that year. In the south Atlantic off Rio de Janeiro, dolphin stocks were reported to be declining sharply as small local longliners increasingly target them.
Such reports lead many to believe we may be on the threshold of severe problems in this fishery. Fishery managers admit that because dolphin aggregate in large schools, there could exist a reasonable risk of rapid stock depletion with little warning, since the commercial fishery could remain viable even at low stock levels.
At least one notable precedent exists to support such concerns -- the red drum, or redfish. Fishery managers looked at the possibility of managing this hugely popular game fish in the 1980s, but decided no management plan was necessary. Later, as the value of redfish as a food supply increased, commercial fishing effort increased rapidly. Since the larger spawning stocks of redfish congregate in large schools much like dolphin do, they quickly became seriously overfished in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Management strategies changed from zero regulations to total moratorium overnight. The federal moratorium still remains in place years later.
Could dolphin management go the way of the redfish? The similarities are hard to ignore. In 1989, a management plan for dolphin was considered, and public hearings were held to examine several management options. Unfortunately, after receiving much public input, no action was taken. The reason cited: 'a lack of public support' -- which when translated likely means the commercial lobbyists were able to roadblock any commercial regulations.
Also like the redfish of the 1980s, few measures exist to protect dolphin from overexploitation. Only three states currently have regulations pertaining to dolphin, and, of course, there are no federal restrictions. Florida has a 10-fish-per-angler bag limit for sport fishers with no minimum size, and a 20-inch minimum size for commercial fishermen, but no quotas or trip limits. Georgia has an 18-inch minimum size and allows 15 fish per person for sport anglers. (Keep in mind that dolphin below 22 to 24 inches may never have had an opportunity to spawn.) North Carolina has a 10-fish-per-recreational-angler bag limit, but no minimum size and no commercial restrictions. Other than those modest state restrictions, the fishery is open to everyone to catch and sell as much as they can.
Those who oppose regulations on dolphin fishing efforts point to the fish's prolific spawning (beginning at 20 inches) and short life span (usually no more than two years), theorizing that these characteristics would make it difficult to overfish the world's dolphin populations. However, there are examples of other prolific spawning species with short life spans that have become overfished or depleted -- most notably the Sardine fishery in California which collapsed entirely after years of overfishing -- so caution is very much warranted.
As the result of recent expressions of concern by sport-fishing groups and conservation organizations, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) has scheduled workshops and formed an advisory panel of scientists, recreational and commercial fishermen to look into the dolphin fishery. Their task is to create a management plan with several objectives: 1) address localized reduction in fish abundance; 2) stabilize market disruption; 3) minimize conflicts between user groups; 4) optimize the social and economic benefits of the dolphin fishery; and 5) reduce bycatch in the fishery.
This similarity to the swordfish's plight leads many to think the SAFMC should consider a sixth management objective: to preserve the traditional and historic ratio of recreational-to-commercial landings. In 1988, U.S. longline vessels landed 2,746 pounds of dolphin in the south Atlantic, which represented far less than 1 percent of the recreational catch of 5 million pounds. From 1993 through 1995 these landings skyrocketed to 48,000 pounds, 113,000 pounds and 400,000 pounds, respectively. By 1995 longline landings represented about 7 percent of the recreational catch in the Atlantic. Worldwide, scientists say the picture is even worse, with the commercial take rising to 16 percent since 1984.
Will this trend continue? It has in other fisheries.
Mike Leech is the president of the International Game Fish Association, the world's foremost organization representing the recreational fisherman. For more information on the IGFA, call 954-927-2628 or log on at www.igfa.org.
