There are 3 sectors in the Gulf that affect the Red Snapper population; Shrimpers, Commercial Fishermen, and Recreational Fishermen. Fisheries management has failed miserably in managing the snapper resource - it's time to re-think policies to be implemented. Establishment of permit reefing zones will accomplish many things with one stroke of the pen; 1) Locations of the artificial reefs within these zones will not necessarily be made publically available, thus dissuading shrimpers to venture into the reef zones as it could cost them an expensive net. This will result in undisturbed bottom areas, free from the shrimpers' scraping resulting in an abundance of shrimp, crabs, juvenile snapper, etc. in these areas which will be allowed to thrive and reproduce. 2) Our plan to deploy several thousand reefs in the next 10 years will result in a "Shock and Awe" effect to the commercial snapper fleet - there are a very limited number of commercial boats on the coast, and it would simply be impossible for the commercials to commercially exploit a sizeable number of these reefs. 3) The TAC (Total Allowable Catch) for the recreational sector is currently set at 4,500,000 pounds of snapper per year, with an impending further reduction in the TAC for 2007. The pyramids deployed off of Alabama reportedly produce up to 500 pounds of Red Snapper per year. We believe that we can "produce" an equivalent to the 4,500,000 pounds/year right here off of the Texas coast in less than 4 years. (4,500,000 pounds/500 pounds per year = 9,000 reefs...we plan to deploy 4,500 reefs per year + 2 years to populate). We also feel that we have improved upon the design of the Alabama reefs, thus resulting in more fish production per reef.
If things continue as they are, we foresee the closure of the Red Snapper fishery for commercial and recreational fishermen in the near future. This will wreck havoc on the coastal community economies along the entire Gulf coast.

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