By: Capt. Joel Brandenburg
I caught my first dolphin 50 years ago at 3 years old with my father off the coast of Key Largo Florida. Since that time, I’ve had an infatuation with dolphin. To see dolphin school and feed around the boat is an amazing sight. The power, speed and acrobatics of a big bull dolphin is like no other fish pound for pound.
Many of our visitors from the north who have never fished the ocean hear we are targeting dolphin and they automatically think we’re going to go out and kill Flipper or Winter the dolphin! Us locals call them dolphin, but when we’re describing our target species to folks who don’t know, we call them mahi, mahi-mahi or Dorado. This spring,
FWC posted a new reduced bag limit for State waters from 10 dolphin per angler to 5. It seems that a third of the local Captain’s agree with the new reduced bag limit. Another third do not agree and the remaining third are confused or undecided. The third that agree argue that the dolphin fishery doesn’t have the quantity and/or quality it used too. They also say that 5 dolphin per person is plenty of table fare. Some even say that cutting the bag limit in half isn’t good enough, they think FWC should increase the size limit too. The size limit is presently 20 inches from the tip of the nose to the fork of the tail down the lateral line of the fish. The third that disagree say there’s plenty of dolphin in the sea. They argue that dolphin are the fasted growing fish in the ocean and they spawn several times per year producing an average of 50,000 eggs per dolphin per hatch.
They also say that many tourists have come to Florida year after year because they can fill a cooler of meat and bring it back home with them and with only 5 dolphin person it may hurt our tourist business. They also bring up the point that other species will suffer because anglers will limit out quicker on dolphin and move in to catch other species.
The last third of the Captains who are confused or undecided are so because this bag reduction only applies to State waters.
State waters as defined by NOAA is 3 miles or less in Atlantic waters and 9 miles or less in Gulf waters. 99% of all dolphin caught are caught outside state waters in what NOAA defines as federal waters.
So for example, when a Captain charters clients 25 miles out and catches 10 dolphin per person and on the way back to port FWC or Coast Guard or County Marine Division pulls the captain over in State waters, will said Captain be fined, arrested or have his/her Captain’s license suspended or revoked? It’s hard to prove whether the dolphin were caught in State or Federal waters. Here’s the facts according to NOAA and
The Southern Atlantic Fishery Management Council:
- Dolphin life expectancy is 5 years.
- Dolphin are the fasted reproducers in the ocean.
- Dolphin harvest in 2020 was 275,00 pounds commercially and 6,300,000 pounds recreationally in Atlantic and Gulf waters
- Dolphin release between 33,000 and 66,000 eggs per dolphin per hatch.
- Dolphin’s #1 predator is dolphin, in other words they are cannibals.
I’m all about protecting our natural resources, but I’ll admit I’m one of the last third Captains who’s undecided and confused. Nevertheless, I love to put anglers on dolphin and excited about this year’s dolphin migration. The best time to book a dolphin trip with Ana Banana Fishing Company in Marathon Florida Keys is April to October.
— For a charter with Captain Joel or Jojo Brandenburg of Ana Banana Fishing Company in Marathon Florida Keys call cell 813-267-4401 or office 305-395-4212 or visit www.marathonkeyfishingcharters.com or visit us in person at Ana Banana Marina located at 11699 Overseas Hwy Marathon Florida Keys. Look for the big yellow Ana Banana sign with antlers around it.