Comment from Jim Birdsong

I have been fishing these waters in the gulf for 60 plus years and retired to PCB in 2008 to continue to do so. The problem is federal regulations have all but destroyed the recreational fishing in the gulf. Boat owners and captains have their boats up for sale because fishermen, like me and my family, can no longer enjoy a great day fishing the gulf with a nice catch of fish. Reef fishermen want to come here to catch red snapper, grouper and amberjack for sport as well as table fare. Due to regulations, that is no longer possible. Red snapper are more plentiful and larger is size than I have seen in the last 50 years, so your 2 limit per person is out of sync. I agree gag grouper population needs rebuilding, so limit them to 2 per person in an aggregate of 6 total grouper. Red grouper just went to 4 due to no shortage of them, so leave them at 4 in the total limit. I personally believe the amberjack shortage is totally due to commericial fishermen and the restrictions need to fall there. In order to salvage the recreational fishing industry down here, you must come up with a season that allows anglers to keep a catch of red snapper, grouper and amberjack, on the same trip, with a total of 10-12 fish per person. Adjust the size limits to maximize the proliferation of the species, but come up with a simultaneous season and reasonable catch limit per fisherman, in order to save the recreational industry in this area of the Florida panhandle. Fishermen like my family will not remain here without some drastic changes in order to assure this all happens in the very near future...like 2012!