TPWD continues to collect data for managing the state and federal red snapper season in coastal waters. Starting this year, the agency is partnering with Mississippi State University and the four other Gulf state agencies (Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi) on a new “disCARD” study to collect information on reef fish caught and released offshore.
This study will rely on saltwater anglers submitting data collected while fishing on cards that TPWD will distribute at certain boat ramps. The “disCARD” project will take place in the Galveston, San Antonio, and Lower Laguna Madre Bay systems for the next 18 months.
This data will be utilized as part of ongoing assessments to help determine the sustainable harvest levels for important species like red snapper.
“The disCARD study represents a new opportunity for anglers to directly help gather more accurate data for better fishery management,” said Hanna Bauer, a program coordinator for the DisCARD study and Policy and Education Team lead for TPWD’s Coastal Fisheries Division. “Fish released by private anglers offshore has been a data gap in Texas and we are excited to begin to fill those gaps with real information.”
