A paper authored by two members of Palm Beach Atlantic University's biology faculty challenging the findings of a federal government study on the Atlantic red snapper population was cited during a congressional subcommittee hearing on Oct. 27.

University biology professor Dr. Ray Waldner and associate biology professor Dr. Thomas Chesnes analyzed the government's data, which concluded that the red snapper population is dwindling. The government's study — known as the Southeast Data, Assessment and Review 15 Stock Assessment Report 1 — forms the basis for a government proposal to close the South Atlantic fishery for at least six months.

Dr. Waldner and Dr. Chesnes came to the opposite conclusion: current conservation efforts seem to be working, and red snapper populations are increasing.

Their paper, published in the November issue of Florida Sportsman magazine, was cited during a hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife. The subcommittee is examining implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 2006, which President Bush signed into law in 2007.

Dr. Ray Waldner

"We need to make sure our fishery management decisions are based on valid science and that decisions to close entire fisheries are not made in haste," said ranking subcommittee member Rep. Henry Brown Jr., R-South Carolina, who introduced the paper into evidence during the hearing. "Yes, we need to manage our fisheries so that future generations can enjoy them as much as we do, but the economic needs of the coastal communities have to be factored into these decisions."

Dr. Waldner and Dr. Chesnes argue that the science in the SEDAR 15-SAR 1 study is unreliable. "We believe that the planned major regulation changes should be tabled pending better and updated research," the professors wrote.

The professors completed their research at the magazine's request but were not compensated. In their study, Dr. Waldner and Dr. Chesnes questioned the method that government scientists used to arrive at estimates of the red snapper population age structure from 1945 through 1983, a period when there were few records. They noted that the earliest physical samples for that study came from fish caught in 1977. The researchers "took recent data and extrapolated backward, thereby estimating what they believe the population's age distribution looked like in earlier years," they wrote.

Dr. Thomas Chesnes

The professors' analysis includes an examination of catch rates, which shows that populations have been increasing since 1992. In that year, tougher regulations on Atlantic red snapper went into effect, including a recreational two-fish bag limit and a 20-inch minimum total length.

"The enhanced regulations of 1992 seem to be working to increase red snapper stocks, but not deemed fast enough according to goals set by federal authorities based on estimates of what abundance may have been in the 1945-82 period," the professors wrote.

They noted that others have criticized the government's research as well, including a former veteran researcher with the fisheries service. In addition, their findings of a growing red snapper population appear to be supported by anecdotal evidence.

"It doesn't seem that it's an imperiled fishery," Dr. Chesnes said.

He added that the economic impact of closing the fishery would be devastating not only to commercial and recreational fishermen but to others indirectly involved in the industry. "Considering how things are going economically, it seems like the wrong decision at the wrong time," he said.

Dr. Waldner said he understands the government's desire to be proactive, and he said he would support an accurate assessment of the red snapper population. He said he became involved as a way to bring attention to the issue.

"We think it's the right thing to do," he said. "It's a decision that affects literally thousands of people."