There are several videos doing the rounds on social media lately about stocking redfish into Louisiana waters. Redfish are one of Louisiana’s most important game fish. They support a massive recreational fishery, fundamental to the lives of local sportsmen and the State economy. The 2022 Louisiana red drum stock assessment painted a clear picture that the fishery is declining, which matched on-the-water observations from countless guides and anglers in recent years. While the LDWF science supported a substantial reduction in harvest, the political process once again muddied the waters for conservation progress. State-based “conservation” groups pleaded that “one less fish per person was simply too much conservation”. They blamed the menhaden boats for red drum’s problems, often parlayed into arguments about the lack of healthy habitat to support more redfish. Now two years later, these same non profit voices are actively collaborating with the menhaden industry and some of the Gulf’s greatest polluters and violators to supplement the stock with tank-grown, genetically-insufficient hatchery fish. You might be asking: why grow fish if things are so good we don’t need a harvest reduction? The answer is simple: the almighty dollar. Let’s take a peak behind the curtain…

MRIP recalibration is approaching its peak. Now, data revisions show the recreational fishery has been far more overestimated than managers admitted, and the ripple effects reach far beyond one chart. They will reshape the entire future of striped bass management.

Capt. Cody Rubner is joined by Kyle and Grizz, two friendly faces and good souls leading the charge for Soul Fly Co. Their mission is simple: bring people together in an event made by the people, for the people. We'll see you at Soul Fly Boston later this month!

A rapid reaction podcast after a North Carolina hearing for Atlantic bonito management.

The Menhaden fight grows louder, but unfortunately for the resource, the discussions grow murkier. A massive error in the stock assessment has changed the entire management picture. In this episode, Tony Friedrich, Mario Campo and Jake Hardy break down why the Bay Cap, the coastwide TAC, and the push for reallocation all demand your nuanced attention right now if you care about forage fish, stripers, ospreys, whales, or the future of the fishery. In episode 220, we break down how a corrected natural mortality estimate from a 1960s tagging study helped expose an overharvest problem that has quietly added up to hundreds of millions of pounds. This episode translates the mortality math into plain English and explains why the current management response is still not enough. With additional biological and policy context, it’s hard to deny why a coastal stock issue cannot be solved by shuffling quota from one region to another.

Tony and Cody chop it up on some ASGA "to-dos", industry "to-don'ts" and a quality coffee recommendation.

The striped bass fishery has collapsed, the data accounting is warped and the biggest warning signs are being buried in plain sight. Here’s everything you need to know about the immediate future of striped bass management…

Deep-sea mining threatens some of the East Coast’s most pristine and vital ecosystems — and it’s happening without public awareness or adequate testing. Join a long-time ocean scientist and a seasoned environmental advocate to uncover Virginia’s first offshore mineral exploration initiative, unravel a complex web of corporate interests, regulatory gaps, and ecological risks that could change the Chesapeake Bay forever.

The old stock assessment models, with fixed effects and oversimplified assumptions, have failed to capture the true biological and spatial complexity of striped bass populations. Now, a cutting-edge model called WAM (Woods Hole Assessment Model) promises to deliver a far more realistic picture — but only if we understand its potential and pitfalls.

In this episode, we dive into the heart of the debate: Can the new WAM model address longstanding flaws like fixed mortality rates and unreliable data inputs? In this episode, scientists and anglers unpack how the transition from traditional catch-at-age models to probabilistic, spatially explicit frameworks could reshape our understanding of recruitment, natural mortality, and spawning stock biomass. We explore the limitations of basic assumptions—like constant mortality across fish sizes—and reveal how outdated science has misled managers, impacting regulations and future conservation efforts.

The Guide Post is joined by a very familiar face that's been gone for a minute...

If you've been underestimating just how political and opaque LA fisheries management truly is, recent bills reveal the game of influence and power at play behind the scenes. Join two Louisiana fishing guides and a fisheries scientist as they give you a peak behind the curtain...