Red grouper is the number one most popular species of commercially desirable grouper. That popularity is elevating it to the arena of controversy with fishery management agencies, commercial seafood interests, and a public with an ever growing appetite for fresh fish on one side and a host of NGO activists on the other.

The on-going controversy over conservation of red grouper (Epinephelus morio), black grouper (Mycteroperca bonaci) and gag (M. microlepis) is primarily a struggle by NGOs to discredit the management abilities of both regional fishery management councils (in this case the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council) and that of the federal National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

The fight percolating for at least the past five years is a fairly localized controversy, but one that has many elements of a national campaign that observers predict is likely to take place somewhere in the not so distant future. When that open battle occurs it will be based not on fishery facts but on a very deliberate and very confusing situation where accusations about one species, black grouper, will be misinterpreted by the public and press as referring to an entirely different fish, gag, used commercially under the assumed name of its more rare relative. The former is a healthy stock; the latter is correctly described as “overfished.”

NGOs stirring the controversy want a prohibition on the commercial harvest of the three species claiming they are woefully overfished. In typical advocacy fashion, the NGO critics ignore the intense efforts, in place since the early 1990s by NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. Those agencies placed severe restrictions on commercial take of grouper. To their credit, again, ignored by their critics, evidence shows the stocks are rebuilding. Tossed into the mix are recreational fishing activists who want restrictions tightened on commercial fisheries but none on non-commercial anglers.

The three species, in question, have indeed endured heavy fishing pressure. Grouper saw a spike in consumer popularity over the past decade. In 1984 some 10 million pounds of grouper were landed in Florida alone. More than 80 percent of grouper brought into the U.S. is caught off Florida waters. Fishing pressure and subsequent restrictions on black grouper caused a switch by commercial seafood enterprises to gag, known as “the grouper of choice” among chefs for its quality and abundance. Note, the name gag is not exactly appetizing so gag is known at the retail end of the consumer product pipeline also as “black grouper.”

The use of the “black grouper” ID for gag in restaurants lends itself to an NGO campaign claiming that “black grouper” should not be fished or sold commercially because of overfishing. Such a campaign would be both correct and incorrect at the same time. Correct because true black grouper (M. bonaci) stocks are low; incorrect because the majority of “black grouper” being served the public is not black grouper at all. It is gag (M. microlepis) that is not overfished. The confusion works in favor of the advocacy campaign of mixed perceptions.

A few fishery facts must be mentioned. The 1999 NMFS fisheries assessment found red grouper overfished. In 2001, landings of red and black grouper and gag were: for red grouper – 3,311.7 metric tons or 7,300,938 pounds valued at more than $14 million; for black grouper – 198.5 meric tons or 437,650 pounds valued at a little more than $1 million; and for gag – 1,803 metric tons or 3,974, 839 pounds valued at $9.9 million.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and NMFS put into effect severe commercial fishing restrictions on grouper: an increase in minimum size (2002), a 45 percent decrease in red grouper harvest (2002), and a prohibition of longlining for grouper to a depth of 50 fathoms (2002). However, the 2002 NMFS stock assessment determined that red grouper is in an “improved condition” compared to its 1997 numbers. The red grouper stocks are getting better, but they are not yet strong enough to sustain heavy fishing pressure. That same assessment found gag no longer qualified for “over-fished” status. The only caveat about gag, the 2nd most popular commercially desirable grouper, is that it is being fished at a rate too high to allow optimum yield.

NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council have a ten-year rebuilding plan in place for red grouper with positive carry-over effects on gag and other grouper types. This plan was offered in May 2003. During the rebuilding period, commercial harvest of red grouper is allowed. However, based on the higher than expected numbers of red grouper detected in the 2002 fish stock census, the 45 percent landings cut has been dropped back to 9.6 percent for a total of 6.55 million pounds.

The red/black grouper/gag issue is particularly interesting from the point of view of NGOs involved. The controversy over grouper, for now, appears localized involving local and regional NGOs. As tends to be the case with NGOs, a probe below the surface can be very revealing in terms of the depth of NGO involvement. The NGOs currently at work in this controversy include:

The Coastal Conservation Association of Florida. This is a branch of a national organization dedicated to promoting recreational fishing at the expense of commercial fishing. Originally chartered as the Gulf Coast Conservation Association in 1977, the group’s Florida chapter takes credit for removing redfish from commercial harvest (1988), banning drift gill nets off Florida’s Atlantic Coast (1991), passing a ballot initiative to limit the use of commercial net fishing in Florida waters (1994), and blocking NMFS’ effort to place a moratorium on recreational take of red grouper as part of its recovery plan (2002).

The most interesting NGO involved, however, is the Marine Fish Conservation Network. MFCN is the key environmental cover for national and international NGOs manipulating the grouper issue behind the scenes. MFCN infuriated NMFS with its report “Horrors of the Deep” alleging mismanagement of fisheries by NMFS. Various MFCN publications continually echo the theme that NMFS turns a deaf ear on overfished fish stocks. Those charges have made their way into the popular press. The deliberate insult to those working at the federal fisheries agency and with the Gulf of Mexico Council is unsettling but part of the scenario of advocates attempting to insinuate themselves into positions to influence public policy.

MFCN describes itself as a coalition of over 155 regional environmental groups as well as marine science, commercial and recreational fishing groups dedicated to conservation and sustainable fisheries.

A look at the organization’s board as well as membership suggests they are a low-key front for very high profile NGOs. On the Board of Advisors are Oceana (formerly Ted Danson’s American Oceans Campaign), National Environmental Trust (run by Greenpeace’s former Washington DC representative), Natural Resources Defense Council, The Ocean Conservancy, Audubon, SeaWeb and others.

In addition to the groups on its board of advisors, MFCN’s membership list includes World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Riverkeepers, Inc., Marine Stewardship Council, Monterrey Bay Aquarium, National Wildlife Federation, Defenders of Wildlife, EarthJustice, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, and the Center for Biological Diversity to mention a few.

The grouper issue appears to be a potential mechanism for major NGOs to push open the door of government and corporate America. If allowed to develop, the major groups will play a more public role. Given the willingness to operate behind the front group Marine Fish Conservation Network and to cajole the recreational fishing community to do most of the heavy lifting to achieve its objectives, it appears that the major groups have not focused full attention on pursuing this avenue as yet.